TVC:Book 07:Rebellion
by VoyagersFan
Summary: With Jeff's adolescent hormones now raging out of control, he and Bogg get into the argument of all time and it's up to Garth to straighten them out and save history.   Sequel to TVC 06-Old Friends, New Beginnings.
1. Forward

_**VOYAGERS!  
><strong>_**The Voyager Chronicles – Book 7  
><strong>**REBELLION  
><strong>**By Dennis A. Daugherty**

DISCLAIMER: Voyagers! and it's associated characters are registered trademarks of Scholastic Productions, James D. Parriott Productions and Universal-MCA Entertainment. This story is written and provided for entertainment purposes ONLY. No copyright infringement is intended by the author.

**FORWARD**

Hi Folks!

Well, how long has it been? For me, it seems like ages. For those of you who have been wondering where I had went to, well, it's quite a long story. A slight modification to an old adage seems to sum it all up just perfectly… "Family… you can't live with them and sometimes you still can't live with them. "

In addition to all the drama in my life, as I've been writing this, I, along with my sister have been taking care of my dad, Leslie, whose health has been slowly deteriorating since May of this year. As strong willed as he was, he fought his illness until he had no more energy left in him to fight. Sadly, we lost him on September 4th at the age of 73. His passing has been a bitter pill and we are still grieving the loss. In light of this, I'm dedicating this latest installment to him. Rest in peace dad.

As our saga continues, we observe Jeff's ongoing progression into adulthood and in doing so, we find him taking on the traits that are so common to early adolescent males. Adolescence is time of upheaval, hormonal imbalance and accelerated body changes. All of this, as well as the need to assert one's independence of their parents, causes great conflict not only for the child, but the parents as well. In much the same way that the journey through the unique phases of early childhood is not easy, neither is the transition from childhood to adulthood for that matter. It is a challenging time and one which tests the strength of the bonds between parent and child. As parents, it is an almost daily struggle to provide support and guidance to the adolescent and to keep him or her focused on the straight and narrow path. But even with all our efforts, there are times when the adolescent must find out for himself that Newton's law "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction" holds true not only when explaining the laws of motion, but also for one's actions in everyday life as well. In this rather short story, Jeff learns this lesson the hard way with his father Bogg coming along for the long, bumpy ride.

I truly hope you enjoy this story as much as I have so in writing it. For now, grab a cup of coffee, sit back in your favorite chair and enjoy the ride.

Until next time…

Dennis

(VoyagersFan)


	2. Win, Lose or Draw

_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
><strong>**REBELLION - BOOK 7  
><strong>**(Sequel to Old Friends, New Beginnings)  
><strong>**By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
><strong>**December 2011  
><strong>**Previous disclaimers apply**

**Chapter 1 – WIN, LOSE OR DRAW.**

"Jeffrey, I said no!" Bogg barked as he stomped across the rough cabin floor.

After their last assignment, the two had decided to revisit Bogg's favorite camping spot for a little bit of rest and relaxation. However, unlike their last trip, rest and relaxation were no longer priority items on the planned agenda, as the two were currently in a parent/child tug of war like no other.

Bogg continued his slow trek across the room, staring at his feet as he put one foot in front of the other. Suddenly though, he stopped in his tracks and whirled about. With his guns now loaded for bear, he flung his arms into the air and continued firing at his son without compunction.

"Kid, why are you doing this? You know we've had this discussion more times than I can count! And you should know exactly how I feel about this!"

Bogg had never given a second thought to the idea of becoming a parent. He knew it was not going to be an easy job. For sure, it was not an undertaking for the faint of heart. But inside, he knew he was ready for the challenge. Jeff had suffered a terrible loss in his life at a fairly young age. He had no family that wanted him, no place to put his head at night and no one to provide the essentials for life, i.e. food, clothing, shelter and most important of all, love and support. Knowing this, Bogg, in a totally unselfish act of self-sacrifice had thrown himself into the proverbial deep end of the pool, not knowing for sure whether he would sink or swim. Surprisingly enough, after many months of being in the drink, his head was still comfortably above water, that is, until now.

Unlike most, he was lucky. Needless to say he seldom needed to be reminded of that fact. Fate couldn't have picked a better child to be his son. Jeff was a great kid. He was happy, intelligent and loving. Not only that, but for the most part he also was polite and well behaved. Of course, like most kids his age there were exceptions to this. These included what the older voyager had loosely termed as 'fits of mischief', 'bouts of fresh mouth' and 'jerky-filled ears.' Of all his son's idiosyncrasies, no matter how big or small, Bogg still loved him, unconditionally.

However, with his son now entering the adolescent phase of his life, Bogg had begun to see a change in him. Almost overnight, the dynamics of their close, loving relationship had somehow become strained beyond tolerance. Like a chameleon, Jeff had turned from the good son he once was into the biggest problem child ever to set foot on the planet. Or so Bogg thought. As an effect of the tsunami of hormones that were currently raging inside of him, his son had not only grown two inches taller and his voice had changed, but he had become moody, belligerent, disrespectful and inattentive.

During this stressful time, Bogg had employed almost every trick he knew of to deal with his troublesome 14 year old. Among these were the usual 'I'll leave you at the nearest orphanage' threats, as well as scoldings, groundings and the taking away of precious privileges. All of these met with some success as they would only redirect the young Voyager for a brief time. In addition, he had come up with a few ingenious tricks of his own to try to keep his son on the straight and narrow path. These too, worked for a short while before eventually becoming obsolete. Even after all the successes and failures, he soon found out that the most effective tool he had in his parenting toolkit was his ability to communicate with his son. The problem was, Jeff had discovered the on/off switch for his ears and had learned how best to use this to his own advantage.

"Bogg, you never let me do any-thing!" Jeff whined in a manly tone. "When are you ever going to realize…I'm not a little kid anymore?"

At this juncture, Bogg was showing signs of losing his patience. He began to scowl at his partner as Jeff's words echoed relentlessly inside his mind. Then without warning, another prickly barb slipped past his lips.

"Huh? Well you could'a fooled me. Just how many fourteen year old Voyagers have you seen lately throwing a temper tantrum like this?"

"I'm not throwing a tantrum." Jeff mumbled.

"I heard that!" Bogg snapped. "Kid you ARE throwing a tantrum."

"I am not!" Jeff yelled as he jumped to his feet and headed toward the cabin door.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going, mister? We're not done here yet."

Before he had taken his next step, Jeff paused for a moment before turning to face his dad.

"Oh, we're done alright! I'm through listening to you!" Jeff huffed. Without hesitation, he again turned toward the door and reached for the handle.

The situation in the room was decaying at a rapid pace. Unlike other arguments the two had been through in the past, the magnitude of this one was off the charts. As much as he tried, Bogg couldn't understand what was going on inside of his partner. He struggled to identify in his mind what he had done to the boy to provoke him to such a state of rage. On the other hand, Jeff was furious at Bogg and was tired of his seemingly heavy handed parental rule over him. Frustrated by his perceived enslavement, he wanted out and had already made his way toward the door with thoughts of leaving for good.

"I have an omni." Jeff thought to himself. "I can go anywhere I want and do anything I want. I can be free of sergeant Bogg and his ordering me around."

"I've had enough and I'm leaving!" Jeff quipped angrily.

Bogg was at his wit's end. The more he tried to reason with his son, the more their argument escalated. In addition to his anger and disappointment with him, he was beginning to tremble with uneasiness, especially upon seeing his partner with one foot in the door and another on a banana peel. He knew that losing Jeff would be the worst thing that could ever happen to him and he had to do something…anything to keep his son from running out on him. The only way they could ever resolve their differences was to talk through them. Somehow, he had to calm the boy down and try to get him to open up.

"Jeffrey! C'mon now. You're just not gonna give up and take the easy way out, are you? Even when things get tough, a Voyager never quits. A Voyager never gives up without a fight. Not even when he has a disagreement."

Jeff paused. The words that had just touched his ears had struck a chord inside of him. With this, he clomped back over to the sofa, plopped down and stared at his feet.

"Look at me, Jeff." Bogg said softly.

Jeff continued to stare at his feet, undaunted.

"JEFF-REY! LOOK AT ME!" Bogg repeated, only louder.

Jeff quickly raised his head. Fiery beams of anger emanated from his eyes as he glared at his partner.

"Alright! ALRIGHT! I'm LOOKING at YOU! Now what?" He snapped.

"What IS eating at you?" Bogg asked impatiently as he nodded his head. "I'm concerned, kiddo. This is so not like you."

"What do you care?" Jeff mumbled.

"I care Jeff!" Bogg replied, while trying to keep his voice below the level needed to bring down the rafters. "I care a lot. The problem is I don't understand what's going on inside that head of yours."

The older voyager continued to stroll around the room, his eyes following the woodgrain patterns of the floor. For a time, he said nothing. When the notion finally hit him, he again began to speak.

"You know, we've had our disagreements..."

"Boy, have we ever had our disagreements..." He mumbled under his breath.

"But until now, we've always been able to resolve our differences. But this…it's not normal for you to act this way."

"Yea, we've resolved our differences alright!" Jeff shouted. "It's always your way or the highway!"

"C'mon, that's not fair." Bogg countered with a hint of disappointment. "I'll have you to know, it's NOT always my way. You've had your way more times than I can count."

"Yeah, right." Jeff moaned.

"You may not realize it, but I've always listened to you. Your input means a great deal to me. And even though I don't always agree with you, I respect what you have to say. You make me sound like another Hitler or something."

"Did I say you were Hitler?" Jeff asked.

"No, but you're implying it." Bogg quipped. "Kid, there's more going on here than meets the eye. Something is bothering you and you are holding it in for some reason."

"Nothing's bothering me." Jeff barked. "Nothing at all. So why don't you just leave me alone."

"No Jeff, I'm not gonna leave you alone." Bogg said with intensity. "You have a beef with me? Tell me! If I've done something wrong. I want to know! I'm tired of walking on eggshells around you! I'm tired of apologizing, especially when I don't even know what I'm apologizing for. So come on and get it out in the open. You need to get it off your chest because it's eating you up inside."

For a time there was silence. Neither son nor dad attempted even the slightest word. Jeff sat on the sofa with his head down while Bogg continued to pace the floor, unable to stand still. The tension in the room was fierce, so much so that in a nearby window, a fly was buzzing about, frantically attempting to find the exit prior to the next shockwave.

"Bogg, I'm tired of you telling me what to do all the time." Jeff quipped. "I'm tired of being your little kid."

Bogg walked over and sat down beside his partner. He turned to face him, took a deep calming breath and attempted to speak in a normal tone of voice.

"Jeff, I'm your dad. It's my job to tell you what to do." Bogg stated softly as he tried to keep his volume in check.

"You still don't understand." Jeff quipped. "Obviously, I'm just wasting my time here."

"Kid, that's just it. I don't understand. I don't understand why all of a sudden we are at each other's throats." He replied as he lowered his head and put his fist over his heart. "I love you, Jeff. I'm your friend, your partner and most of all, your dad. It's tearing me apart inside to see you like this. And I don't know what to do to fix it!"

"Now whose ears are filled with jerky, huh?" Jeff snapped. "Have you not been listening to me? I've been trying to tell you what's wrong!"

"I'm trying to, but all you've done for the past 30 minutes is yell at me." Bogg argued. "Please…turn down the volume and let's discuss this rationally, man to man, ok?"

Jeff grimaced a bit before reluctantly giving in to his partner's request.

"Ok." Jeff replied somewhat humbly. "I'll try not to yell at you."

"Good. Besides, I'm not ready for an ear trumpet just yet you know."

Jeff rolled his eyes. For once he did not see the humor in his partner's musings.

"Ok, so apparently I don't listen to you. So, here I am. I'm listening. You have my undivided attention. So tell me what's on your mind so that we can try and work this out."

With this open invitation from his partner, Jeff began to bear his soul.

"Bogg, I love you." He declared as he stared at his feet. "You are the best thing that ever happened to me since my parents died. You have taken me under your wing, taught me everything and given me opportunities that I wouldn't have had otherwise."

Bogg nodded in agreement, but didn't utter a word.

Jeff suddenly raised his head and made eye contact with his partner. "And I…I…appreciate everything, your gifts, your wisdom, your sacrifices and most of all your humor."

"Ok…kiddo. As a rapper would say…'I'm feeling ya.'" Bogg acknowledged. "Don't stop…You've come this far."

"But Bogg, you are smothering me."

"How so, Jeff?" Bogg asked curiously in a warm, loving tone.

"There are times when I feel as if we are bound at the hip. I feel I can't go anywhere or do anything for myself without you being right by my side. You have to realize, sometimes I just need to be alone, to have some quality time to myself."

Bogg sat and listened patiently as he continued to absorb and process the issues that his son was bringing out into the open.

"Ok, I understand. Everyone needs some time alone… to relax and regroup." Bogg said softly.

"Not only that, but you are constantly ordering me around and making decisions for me, even those simple ones that I'm totally capable of making for myself. Sometimes, I feel like a robot. It's as if I have no control of my life at all."

Bogg leaned back on the sofa and took a deep cleansing breath, as he reflected on his partner's words.

"I'm sorry, guy…really I am. It was never my intention to make you feel as if I'm your taskmaster. That's not the kind relationship I want us to have. I'm your dad, Jeff. And you… you are NOT my indentured servant…you ARE my son. I want our relationship to be that, and nothing else. As your dad, it's my job to be there for you, to protect you from harm and to guide you safely into adulthood."

"I'm not saying that you stand over me with a whip or something." Jeff said calmly. "I'm just saying that you are just being too overly protective of me."

"Ok, now we're getting to the nitty-gritty of it all. I see where you are coming from. Looking back, maybe I have been a bit of a control freak in this situation. But, you need to understand, sometimes, in order to fulfill my "dadly duties," I may have to make decisions for you that you may or may not understand, or for that matter, agree with. But, always remember, I'm doing these things because I love and care about you. You may not understand this today, but someday, when you grow into that great man you are destined to be, it will all become clear to you."

"I understand that, but…"

"Wait, kiddo. I'm not finished yet." Bogg said with a warm and loving tone.

"And another thing... I do confess. I HAVE always thought of you as my little kid. I'm not ashamed of that and neither should you be. It is a term of endearment and is not meant in any way to show disrespect to you or to question your level of maturity."

Bogg leaned over and put his arm around his son and gave him a quick hug.

"Jeff, you are my little kid." Bogg said lovingly. Even when you are thirty, in my eyes, you'll still be my little kid."

"I know you want to protect me Bogg, but you have to give me some freedom. I have to learn to stand on my own two feet. You know, to make decisions and work things out for myself. If I get it right, then great, if not, that's ok too. I'll learn from my mistakes and grow from them."

"You know kid; I never claimed to be the perfect parent." Bogg confessed. "When it comes right down to it, I don't think there is such a thing. You know, when you came into my life, I don't recall ever receiving an instruction manual, explaining how to raise you. So, like most parents, I had to do the best that I could do based on my own personal values and upbringing, while using my own best judgment. Maybe in my extreme efforts to be that perfect parent, I've totally lost sight of the obvious."

"Believe me when I say this, I've always wanted you take on more responsibility and make decisions for yourself. When the time comes, I want you to be independent and have the ability to stand on your own. I wouldn't be a good parent if I didn't want that. Besides, dear old dad here won't be around forever you know. Sooner or later, I'll find myself on final assignment."

Jeff's chin dropped as his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"You're not going to die." Jeff yelped with some distress in his voice. "You've got many more years before that will ever happen."

"Kid, you don't know that." Bogg said warmly. "But I do appreciate the thought."

"Ok. From this point forward, I promise to loosen the reins so to speak and give you the freedom to make decisions and as you so aptly put it, work things out for yourself. How 'bout that?"

Jeff reached over and put his arm around his dad. "That's great!"

"One other thing, kiddo."

"What's that?" Jeff asked softly.

"Just remember this. And let me explain it to you in military terms. This is your promotion from private to corporal. If you abuse the privilege, rest assured, this general will bust you back to a private in a New York minute. Got it! Not only that, if I ever feel you are in over your head, I, as your dear old dad, WILL take control of the situation without a second thought. Now, do you agree to these terms?"

Jeff sat for a moment and pondered the terms of their agreement.

"Yes, I agree."

Bogg extended his hand to his partner.

"Let's shake on it."

Jeff reached out and took his dad's hand and officially sealed the agreement between the two of them.

"Ok, what about the little trip that I was talking about?"

"You mean the trip back to save your mom and dad from their terrible fate? What about it?"

"Can I go?"

"The answer is still no." Bogg said firmly.

"But…but… What about our agreement?" Jeff asked. "What about the part of letting me make my own decisions?"

"This falls under the section of 'you being in over your head.' Bogg explained. "And I'm taking control."

"I don't understand, Bogg." Jeff whined. "This is not fair."

"Kid, life is seldom fair." Bogg said with a hint of humor in his tone. "Do I have to explain my reasons to you again? C'mon now. You're smarter than that. I said NO and that's final."

Jeff's expression at this moment was that of sheer frustration and anger.

"So now you're saying I'm stupid." Jeff quipped.

"No Jeff, I was just saying…"

"Well, that's what you said."

"For once, would you stop letting those hormones run that mouth of yours. I would like to finish a sentence before you snap my head off." Bogg quipped.

"I didn't snap your head off." Jeff argued.

Bogg sat back on the sofa and for a moment, said nothing.

"I still don't understand why you won't let me do this." Jeff said pointedly.

"Ok, I'll explain it to you one more time…" Bogg replied. "Only this time, I'll use five simple words."

"What's that?" Jeff asked curiously.

"YOU WILL CHANGE THE TIMELINE."

"No I won't." Jeff argued. "If you are afraid my going back and preventing the accident will cause history to be changed, I can't see how that could happen. Mom and dad were just plain ol' everyday ordinary people. They were not destined for any greatness or fame. If they hadn't died, they would have lived out the rest of their lives doing the same ol' things they had done for years."

"You don't know that. " Bogg said sharply. "What if their deaths were the direct cause of you becoming a Voyager?"

"How can that be? Garth said that I was already destined to become a Voyager."

"Yes, that was how history was written, but that was AFTER your parents had died." Bogg argued.

Jeff in his usual lawyer like style, continued to plead his case before his partner.

"Yes, that's how it was written, but what if their deaths had nothing to do with it?"

Bogg sat for a moment, pondering his partner's question in his mind. He knew he had a valid point, but the only thought going through his mind at the moment was "Smart kids give me such a pain."

"Ok, I'll give you that one." Bogg replied. "There is a remote possibility you would have become a Voyager regardless of what happened to your parents. But there's no evidence to support that. It's just a theory."

"Here's another thought, kiddo. What if your parent's death was meant to be, that is, for the greater good of humanity?"

"What do you mean…'for the greater good of humanity?'" Jeff asked curiously.

"Well, what if the accident was meant to keep your parents from doing something…say something that would have posed a threat to mankind? You know the old saying, everything happens for a reason."

Jeff nodded his head in disbelief.

"Seriously? What could a history professor/amateur archeologist and his wife do that would affect the whole of mankind, huh?" Jeff asked with a note of sarcasm in his voice. "It's not like they could have invented some new deadly disease or started the next world war."

"I don't know kid. That's why I'm asking you." Bogg argued as he attempted to make his partner see reason. "You're playing around with a big set of unknowns here. Do you really want to put the wheels of this plan into motion, when you don't even know for sure what the outcome will be?"

At that moment, Jeff jumped to his feet and began pacing the floor, pondering what had just been said. After a time, he turned to his partner.

"Bogg, I'm sorry, but I just can't see the harm in doing this. Besides, I owe it to them. If there was any way to save them, they would want me to at least try."

"Even at the risk of changing the timeline for the worse." Bogg quipped impatiently. "Jeff you are not thinking straight here. During the time we've been together, you have told me quite a bit about Bill and Kathy, so much so that I feel that I actually know them personally. They were highly intelligent and rational people. I can't imagine them ever agreeing to such a reckless undertaking, especially if they knew the risks. Think about it, kiddo. For a moment, put your feelings for them aside. Think about what they would say."

"I HAVE thought about it and I HAVE examined the possibilities." Jeff quipped. "And I'm still not convinced that doing this is the wrong thing."

"Ok, let's look at this from a different angle. Let's say you go back in time and stop the accident from occurring. The two timelines, yours and theirs are linked together, with you being the point of focus. What happens if your actions to save them end up drastically changing your own timeline? What if everything we've done so far and all the experiences we've shared since we first met never occur? What if because of the changes to your timeline, we never meet? Do you really want to take that risk?"

"That's history." Jeff said cynically. "We'll meet. It's already happened."

"Yes, it's already happened and it happened as I said before, AFTER the accident. Kid, you have to realize, time is fluid, like a river. If you put a dam several miles upstream, then everything from that point forward is without water. It's the law of cause and effect. You can't just go back and make changes to a particular event in history without affecting the events that occur after it. I thought you understood that concept."

"I do understand, but…"

"And what about the Voyager Code? Do you realize if you go through with this, you will be violating a whole entire section of it? Remember the tribunal?"

"Yea, I remember." Jeff said sullenly.

"You know, a few minutes ago you said you wanted more responsibility. Well, if you go through with this you'll definitely get your wish. You'll get the responsibility you want alright and much more than you realize. You WILL be brought before that same tribunal and held responsible for your actions. Not only that, but I'll be held responsible also, as your partner and your instructor."

"I don't care about the Voyager Code." Jeff shouted. "I care about my parents."

Bogg's emotions were churning inside of him like the waves of a tsunami. His partner's words had unexpectedly stirred up issues that he thought he had come to grips with long ago. As much as he tried to suppress and control the anger which was building inside of him, he could not prevent the inevitable explosion from occurring.

"I know you do kiddo. It's been more than two years since they died and you have yet to let go of them."

"What do you mean by that?" Jeff snapped.

"Well what do you think? Not a day goes by that you aren't thinking about them, talking about them or grieving over them. You have yet to realize, Jeff, your parents are gone. You can't bring them back. I'm the only family you have now. Remember, I made a commitment to you…to be there for you…to be your family and to be your dad. You were saying minutes ago that you were tired of walking in my shadow. How would you feel if you were in my shoes? How do you think I feel having to walk in your parent's shadows on a daily basis?"

"I'm not believing this!" Jeff yelled. "My parents are dead and you…you… are jealous? You're jealous because I don't love you like I love them. That's the real reason why you don't want me to go back and save them. Isn't it?"

Bogg lowered his head in disappointment after being wounded by his partner's piercing accusations. His heart was now aching and his soul was in tears.

"I'm not jealous." Bogg said softly.

"You could'a fooled me…" Jeff snapped.

"Jeffrey…I know you are angry with me." Bogg said in a soft, trembling voice. "If I we're in your shoes, I probably would be too, but you have to realize, I love you… you're all I've got. But right now, I'm really confused as to where I stand with you."

"Bogg, you've always known where you stand with me." Jeff said sharply.

Bogg suddenly raised his head and glared at his partner.

"Do I? How can you be that sure, especially when I'm not sure at all? Maybe you should just tell me where I stand with you and get it over with. You've made it all too clear how you feel about me."

Jeff couldn't respond. Inside, he was experiencing a virtual whirlwind of emotions. There was the anger and contempt he now felt for his partner and along with it, the undeniable love which he had for him. There was the never-ending grief from his parent's untimely death which he had yet to come to grips with. Then there was the longing for them he felt deep in his soul. For an adult, reconciling these emotions would have been a challenge, but for a 14 year old, it was overwhelming.

After the barrage of arrows had temporarily ceased, Bogg sat silently for a moment, thinking of what was to become of their relationship. Even though Jeff was exhibiting signs of wanting to part ways, Bogg, even in a state of anger was not willing to give up that easily. He still loved him and he knew if he was going to win this battle he was going to have to continue to endure a long, hard struggle. With this thought, he firmly planted his standard in front of him, took up his shield and continued to fight for his son.

"Let me explain something to you kiddo. You know, you were virtually an orphan when I landed in your room years ago. You had no one. Even your aunt and uncle didn't want you as you've told me on numerous occasions. But fate put us together. At first, I'll admit I didn't like the idea of having a little snotty-nosed kid tagging alongside of me. But as time passed, like breaking in a new pair of shoes, our relationship became a comfortable fit. I took you under my wing and gave you the love and support that you would never have had back on Earth. And when the time came, I made the ultimate sacrifice for you. I became your dad, not because I had to, but because I knew in my heart it was the right thing to do and it was what we both wanted."

"Bogg…" Jeff whimpered.

"No… let me finish. Or at least I thought it was what we both wanted. I understand Bill and Kathy were your parents and you loved them dearly. You loved them then and still love them today. If you didn't, you wouldn't be jeopardizing your future…and ours in this way."

"I'm not jeopardizing our future." Jeff interrupted. "I love them and I want to save their lives."

"Ok, let's say you go back and save them. What happens after that, huh?" Bogg asked. "Have you even thought about that part yet? Well, if you haven't, then let me bring the issue out into the open so that you can think about it. When you bring them back to life… will this be our goodbye? Will you be staying with me or returning to the life you had with them?"

Jeff's eyes began to swell with tears as the reality of what his partner was saying finally set in. He sniffled a bit, before wiping them on his sleeve.

"I don't know, Bogg… I haven't figured that one out yet." Jeff replied with despair.

"What do you mean you haven't figured it out yet?" Bogg quipped. "I already know where you'll be… with them, of course."

In his unrelenting quest to fulfill his own wishes, Jeff was loosening, one by one, the ties that had bound the two Voyagers together for such a brief time. He was pulling away and no matter how much Bogg fought to keep it from happening, there was nothing that he could do to change what would be the inevitable conclusion. Jeff would go back and save his parents from their fate. The three of them would be reunited and again be a happy family and Bogg would once again be…alone.

With these thoughts, Bogg suddenly felt a lump come up in his throat, as an overwhelming surge of fear and uneasiness began to come to the surface. He swallowed hard and in a soft, saddened tone began to speak.

"Jeffrey… Uh… I guess there's just one more important question I need to ask. And before you give me your answer, I need for you search deep inside yourself and let me know the truth, ok?"

"What's that?" Jeff asked.

"Is this the end of us… the end of PB & J?"

Jeff stood in the midst of the room, frozen in place and stunned by his partner's unexpected question. By the look on his face, Bogg knew all too well this one question had hit home. It had broken through his partner's otherwise impenetrable skin and pierced his heart. And now, he had no idea how to respond. Soon after, a rush of emotions came over him the likes of which he had never experienced before. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his training omni and dialed up his destination.

"Please… don't!" Bogg exclaimed nervously. "Please kid, think about it. Think about what you are going to do, not only to yourself, but to us and to others. Please Jeff. Stop before it's too late."

Jeff slowly closed the lid on the omni as he looked up at his partner.

"Bogg, I'm sorry." Jeff said with a calm sense of resolution in his voice. "I have to do this. And don't try to stop me."

In a valiant move, a last ditch effort to stop his son and keep them together, Bogg snatched his omni from his belt and attempted to lockout the controls on his partner's training omni. However, his efforts were in vain. It was too late to stop him from going through with his plans.

With a clear conscious, Jeff pushed the button on his omni and vanished.

"Bats breath!" Bogg yelled.

Quickly, Bogg set the controls on his omni to follow his partner to his destination.

"Smart kid… Just wait 'til I get my hands on you." He mumbled. "You thought the time-out in the trash can was bad… Well, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

He pushed the button on his omni and then vanished.


	3. Time's Threads Unravelled

_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
><strong>**REBELLION - BOOK 7  
><strong>**(Sequel to Old Friends, New Beginnings)  
><strong>**By DA Daugherty(VoyagersFan)  
><strong>**December 2011  
><strong>**Previous disclaimers apply**

**Chapter 2 – TIME'S THREADS UNRAVELLED**

It was a typical Saturday morning in June and the beginning of a warm, slightly breezy day in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. The Adirondack region of the state, well known for its untouched forests, pristine lakes, breathtaking scenery and crisp, clean air, was a place of wonder and great inspiration to all who frequented there. An area chocked full of hiking trails, campgrounds and quaint little hamlets, there was something of interest for everyone regardless of their interests. It was an inviting retreat, where one could easily cast aside the stresses of daily living for a brief time, reconnect with nature and take in all the beauty of the area. For those who had experienced it first hand, it was one of God's perfect creations and the next best thing to Heaven on Earth.

On this day, the Jones family had risen early to get a jumpstart on the day. Today marked the continuation of a family tradition, the annual Jones family outing. Each year at this time, they would load up their station wagon, hitch up their camper and make their way north to their usual campground in the Adirondacks. With Bill behind the wheel, Kathy by his side and their young son in the camper catching up on the latest issue of his favorite comic book, the three set out at daybreak on their trek. A few hours later, they found themselves travelling up a long, winding road which they knew from their previous trips was the last leg of their journey.

With his omni in hand, Jeff's future self arrived at the exact location where his parent's accident had originally taken place. With a bit of trepidation, he picked himself up off the ground and surveyed the area.

"Looks like I'm here." He said to himself. "But where is mom and dad?"

He flipped open the lid of his omni and peered at the controls.

"It's the correct date and place. So what gives here?"

In an instant, Bogg fell through the time portal and landed on his haunches several yards away. After shaking off the effects of his rather hard landing, he stood up and looked around in search of his young partner.

"Ahh…there you are you little pain." He whispered to himself in a devious tone. "So you thought you could outsmart dear ol' dad, huh? Well we're gonna put a stop to your little plans, toot suite."

"Jeffrey!" He yelled in his deep baritone voice before sprinting off toward his son. "Don't do it!"

At that moment, the Jones' station wagon came speeding down the road, headed for the curve where the accident originally occurred. As it flew past Bogg, it left a thick cloud of dust in its wake that totally engulfed him.

"This is it." Jeff thought to himself. "But how do I stop them?"

He stood for a moment before an idea came to his mind.

"I got it." He announced.

Quickly he turned one of the dials of his omni and pushed the button. In a flash, he had taken the omni for a short hop from the side of the road to the front seat of the Jones' oncoming car. Arriving inside mere seconds after Bill Jones had fallen asleep; Jeff grabbed the steering wheel and guided the vehicle safely around the curve. He then put on the brakes and brought it to a stop on the side of the road.

Minutes later, Bogg had managed to find his way out of the massive cloud of dust. As he emerged, he was bent over with his hands on his thighs, coughing wildly and gasping for air. Once he had recovered, he stood up and looked off in the distance for any sign of his partner. Much to his surprise, he noticed the Jones' car and camper pulled over to the side of the road.

"Bats Breath!" He muttered. "He's gone and done it now."

With little effort he again took off in a wind sprint, running toward the vehicle to see what had happened. However, before he could reach it, the vehicle mysteriously… vanished. Bogg stopped in his tracks, dumbfounded by the sight as he scratched his head and tried to make sense of it all.

"What the…?" He mumbled.

As he peered off into the distance, he couldn't help but notice a small, shiny object lying in the middle of the road. He made his way over to it, bent down and picked it up.

"It's the kid's omni." He thought as he wiped the device on his sleeve and put it in the pocket of his jerkin. "But where's Jeff?"

Bogg stood up and cast his eyes over the area in an attempt to locate his son.

"Jeffrey!" He yelled. "Jeff-rey!"

There was no answer.

Jeff's unabashed tinkering with time had caused more damage than either he or his partner could have realized. As if Bogg didn't have enough problems to deal with at the moment, unexpectedly, the situation took a turn for the worse. All around him, things had started to change. Hearing the roar of jet engines overhead, Bogg looked up and watched as a large passenger airliner was making tracks across the sky. He continued to observe it for a time and then it slowly began to fade from existence. Within seconds it had totally vanished from the sky.

Thinking that his eyes were playing tricks on him, he rubbed them gently on his sleeve. At that moment he heard a strange rumbling noise coming from behind him. As he turned to see what was there, he stood in shock as the dirt road he was standing on gradually faded away and transformed into a field of tall grass. Before he could take another step, he was startled by a large oak tree which suddenly appeared just inches from his side.

"Oh… this is not good." He muttered as the reality of what had occurred finally set in.

"I've got to fix this, but how?" Bogg asked himself as he pondered the predicament he found himself in. It was now apparent that Jeff's actions had changed history for the worse. But little did he realize just how broad and encompassing the effects were. Before he could set his omni to go back and attempt to repair the damage, the unthinkable occurred. As he stood in the midst of the tall grass, a peculiar feeling suddenly came over him. He felt lightheaded as the world all around him began to spin. Quickly, he leaned up against the tree and put his head down for a moment. After a few minutes, the dizziness subsided and he was again back to what he thought was his old self. He raised his head and looked around the area, only to discover he didn't know where he was.

"Where am I?" He asked himself. "Wait a minute! I was on my way to see Columbus, but how did I get here? The omni must be stuck in the automatic mode again. I better quit fooling around here and get back to work; otherwise I'll lose my job."

Bogg grabbed the omni from his belt, flipped open the lid and set the dials for his next destination. He pressed the button and nothing happened.

"Bats Breath!" He yelled. Impatiently, he continued to press the button in the hope that the unruly machine would miraculously begin working again.

"I knew I should've taken you in for your million mile tune-up." He said while holding the omni in front of his face. "Ok, you win… I guess we'll be going back to Voyager Headquarters after all."

He reset the dials for Voyager Headquarters and closed the lid.

"Let's hope you still remember where Voyager Headquarters is. Otherwise who knows where I could end up."

With his fingers crossed, he pushed the button and vanished.

It was mid morning on Planet Voyager. The skies were overcast and filled with dark, ominous looking clouds. It was raining fiercely and had been doing so off and on throughout the whole of the morning. Inside Voyager Headquarters, the day was proceeding as normal.

Surprised and somewhat relieved, Bogg arrived at the front entrance of the building, unscathed. He opened the door, stepped inside and made his way down the long corridor to the main elevator. Before the doors opened, an all too familiar voice greeted him from behind.

"Phineas? What are you doing here?"

"Susan?" He replied as he turned to face his colleague standing behind him. "How have you been?"

"I'm doing great. How about you?"

Bogg smiled warmly at his former love as he attempted to respond.

"Oh, uh… I'm ok, I guess."

"What brings you here?" She asked curiously. "Have you been recalled?"

"Nope. Nothing that drastic. I'm just here to get the boys upstairs to look at my omni. It's being tempermental again."

"That's odd, Phineas. Isn't that a new omni?"

"No, it's the same old tempermental omni I've always had."

With this Susan's expression could only be described as a look of sheer confusion. In her mind, she recalled the fact that Voyager Technical had upgraded Bogg to the newest available omni not too long ago. Not knowing exactly what was up; she sloughed off his answer as if she hadn't even heard it.

At that moment, the doors to the elevator opened and the two Voyagers stepped inside. Susan waited for the doors to close before she asked the obvious question.

"Phineas, where's Jeffrey?"

Bogg turned to her with a puzzled expression. "Jeffrey?" He asked innocently. "Who's Jeffrey?"

Susan nodded her head, thinking this was yet another of Bogg's ingenious pranks.

"Ok, enough of the jokes… I'm serious. Where's Jeffrey?"

He stood for a moment with a blank look on his face before repeating his answer.

"This is no joke. I don't know who this Jeffrey is, but if I did I'd be the first one to tell you where he is."

Susan was speechless. Every fiber of her being was telling her that something was amiss here. Was Bogg sick? Had he somehow gotten hurt and lost his memory? There were many questions going through her mind at this point, but so far, very few answers.

"Phineas, are you feeling ok?"

"I'm feeling great! Couldn't be better. Why?"

"And you don't remember Jeffrey?"

"Nope… As a matter of fact, I don't know a Jeffrey." Bogg replied staunchly. "Susan, what's this all about? And just who is this Jeffrey person I'm supposed to know, huh?"

"He's your son. Why can't you remember him?"

At that time, the doors of the elevator opened and the two stepped out into the hallway.

"C'mon. Who is pulling whose leg now? If I had a kid, especially one named Jeffrey; I think I'd remember that."

"It's true, Phineas! You do have a kid." Susan said somewhat impatiently. "Don't you remember, you adopted him a year or so ago."

Bogg stood in the hallway, his mouth agape and his chin almost on the floor. A faint, yet distant memory of Jeff's adoption flashed briefly in the forefront of his mind.

"I… actually… have a son?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Not only that, he's a Voyager and your partner as well."

"You are sure, right?"

"This is your long time friend here." She said pointedly. "Would I ever lie to you?"

The shock of this revelation was more than Bogg could handle. He began to stagger as his legs started to buckle underneath him. Susan quickly grabbed his arm and led him over to a bench and sat him down. For a time, he sat there staring at the opposite wall with a look of sheer disbelief on his face. His only words were "I have a kid," which he repeated over and over.

Susan knew she had her work cut out for her. Something unusual had occurred to cause her colleague's obvious loss of memory and she had to get to the bottom of it and fast. Using a bit of tough love, she grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him aggressively.

"Phineas! Come on now! Get a grip on yourself! We've got to find out what happened to Jeffrey."

Bogg sat there mumbling to himself and repeating Jeff's name. "Jeffrey… Jeffrey…Jeff…rey…"

"Yes… Jeffrey." She reassured. "You have a son… his name is Jeffrey. Do you know where he is?"

"Jeff…rey… Jeff…Jeffrey!" Bogg repeated. "I have a son…I…I remember now… Jeff."

"Yes, you have a son. Can you describe him?"

"Jeff… He wears a striped shirt."

"What else can you tell me about him?"

"It's a red and white striped shirt."

"Go on…tell me more." Susan urged. "What else do you remember about Jeffrey?"

"Jeffrey… he wears funny looking shoes. Suuuhhhh… sneakers…"

"What else Phineas… C'mon…think back…You can do it!"

"He has curly hair."

"Yes, he does have curly hair." She acknowledged.

At this point, Susan rose from her seat and stood directly in front of him.

"Phineas can you stand?" She asked.

Bogg slowly got to his feet and stood next to her.

"I think we need to get you over to Voyager Medical and have them check you out."

"But…but… I don't like doctors." Bogg whined. "They poke you and prod you and then they stick you with these big ol' needles that look like harpoons. Besides, I'm not a whale you know."

"No buts…Phineas Bogg! You are going whether you want to or not!" Susan commanded in a stern voice. "C'mon… big, strong, macho Phineas Bogg isn't afraid of a little ol' needle, are you?"

"Yes, you could say that." He replied with a hint of apprehension in his tone.

"You'll be just fine." She reassured. "I'll be sure and tell them you are not a whale, ok?"

"Ok." He replied.

"Now let's get going." Susan ordered with a sense of urgency in her tone. "Besides we need to get there before the best rooms are taken. You know…those with the oceanfront view."

Upon hearing this, Bogg stopped in his tracks and turned to his love with a puzzled look.

"Since when do they have rooms with an oceanfront view at Voyager Medical? The place is nowhere near the ocean."

"That's right." She replied. "I was just testing you to see if you'd catch on to that one."


	4. Doctors and Nurses and TestsOh My!

_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
><strong>**REBELLION - BOOK 7  
><strong>**(Sequel to Old Friends, New Beginnings)  
><strong>**By DA Daugherty(VoyagersFan)  
><strong>**December 2011  
><strong>**Previous disclaimers apply**

**Chapter 3 – DOCTORS AND NURSES AND TESTS… OH MY!**

Within minutes, Susan and Bogg had arrived at Voyager Medical. Once inside, two med techs strapped the noticeably shaken up voyager to a gurney and without pause, whisked him through a set of double doors marked "Examination." For the next two hours and much to his chagrin, he would be poked, prodded and visually examined from head to toe by a number of highly trained, specialized medical professionals.

As Bogg lay tethered to a gurney in the exam room unable to escape the clutches of Voyager Medical's best medical team, the door suddenly opened and a tall man in his mid-forties came into the room. He was sporting a crisp white lab coat which was accented by a black stethoscope conveniently draped around his neck like a feather boa.

"Mr. Bogg I presume?"

"Yes, I'm Bogg."

"Mr. Bogg, I'm Doctor Neumann. I understand you are a bit under the weather so to speak."

"Well, I guess you could say that." Bogg quipped.

"Hmmm. It says here in your medical chart that you have experienced an episode of amnesia."

"I don't have amnesia, doc. I've just lost my memory."

Dr Newmann put his hand over his mouth in an attempt to suppress his laughter.

"So, Mr. Bogg, you think you've lost your memory. Do you know how it happened?"

"All I know is my colleague Susan said I had a son and I couldn't even remember his name."

Anticipating that this was going to be a rather involved examination, Dr. Neumann pulled a nearby stool up to the side of the gurney and sat down on it.

"Mr. Bogg, I'm gonna ask you a few questions in hopes that we may get to root cause of your problem."

"Ok, doc."

"First. Have you experienced any sort of head trauma in the last few days?"

"Nope, none that I can remember."

"Have you ever had a concussion?"

"Well…uh…yes." Bogg replied with some hesitation.

"Tell me about it."

"You see, I was with these two beautiful snow bunnies out on the ski slope…"

"Snow bunnies?" Dr. Neumann asked curiously.

"Yea, beautiful ones. Anyway, Jeff got into a bit of trouble, so I took off down the slope to help him."

"Then what happened?" The doctor asked.

"Well, you see…uh…umm… I couldn't stop…and…uh…"

"Let me guess…" The doctor replied. "You ran into something."

"Yea, you could say that…" Bogg said, somewhat embarrassed. "I ran smack dab into a tree."

"Ok… can you tell me how long it's been since that occurred?"

"Oh, I'd say around 5 or 6 months or so."

"I take it you have fully recovered from the incident. Have you noticed anything unusual since it occurred?"

"Nope… I've been just fine up until today."

"Have you been eating well and getting enough rest?"

"Yes sir."

"Have you had any problems with your vision lately?"

"Nope. I can see just fine."

Dr. Newmann quickly held three fingers up in front of Bogg's face.

"How many fingers do you see?"

"Three."

At this point in the examination, Dr. Neumann stood up and leaned over his patient as he took out his penlight and looked at both of Bogg's eyes.

"Hmmm… that looks good."

"Do you have a history of having really bad headaches?"

"Only when my son is around." Bogg replied with a cheesy grin.

"Other than that, do you ever suffer from headaches?"

"Nope, not at all."

"What about nosebleeds? Do you ever have them?"

"No."

The doctor paused for a moment and thumbed through Bogg's medical chart. After turning a few pages, he stopped on the next one and began reading what was written on it.

"Your blood pressure looks good… Temperature is normal. Reflexes are excellent… There's no sign of bruising or trauma… No broken bones or open wounds…"

"So what's the verdict, doc?" Bogg asked.

"I'd say from the looks of it, you are healthy as a horse." Dr. Neumann replied. "But we've still got this little matter of your bout of amnesia to attend to. I think I'll order a full lab series on you as well as a complete brain work-up. The results should give us some idea as to what caused your amnesia and how we should proceed with treatment."

"That sounds like it will hurt." Bogg stated somewhat nervously. "I want you to know, I am highly allergic to needles."

"Mr. Bogg, the scans won't hurt a bit." Dr. Neumann reassured. "Now as for the other tests… well… you just don't worry about those. Ok?"

"I knew it!" Bogg exclaimed. "I told Susan if she brought me here, I'd be harpooned like a whale."

Dr. Neumann began to chuckle. "Mr. Bogg. I hate to disappoint you, but we did away with harpooning our patients a long time ago. We just lost too many patients that way. We'd leave the room to grab the harpoon and by the time we returned, the patient was gone. We determined that treatment was just too effective. We also stopped using leeches, waiving old dried up bones in the air over our patients as well as shaking gourds and chanting. As a matter of fact, our last witch doctor fled the scene many years ago. I believe he now works in Omni R & D."

"Funny doc… You should have been a comedian."

"I knew I missed my true calling." Dr. Neumann teased. "You just try to relax and rest. Someone from the lab will be by in a moment."

Dr. Neumann left the room and a few minutes later a med tech arrived on the scene. He walked into the room, pushing a small cart of supplies.

"Mr. Bogg, I'm from the lab. I need to get some blood from you."

"Oh no, here it comes." Bogg mumbled. "I'll be oozing blubber like a harpooned whale."

The med tech rifled through the myriad of supplies on his cart until he found what he needed.

"Oh, found one…"

He then attached the somewhat intimidating needle to an empty hypodermic syringe and held it up in the air like a trophy. He flipped the needle cap off into the floor and made his way over to his intended victim.

"Mr. Bogg, if you will hold out your arm and make a fist, I'll try to make this as quick and painless as possible."

"How long have you actually been harpooning people?" Bogg asked nervously. "I mean, have you been fully trained in this sort of thing? I just don't want any ol' person poking holes in me."

As the med tech pressed on Bogg's arm in an attempt to find a suitable vein, he laughed a bit and then set the record straight.

"Mr. Bogg, I have been poking people for more years than I can count. I assure you I have been thoroughly and extensively trained in this procedure. Not once have I ever missed my intended target."

"Target?" Bogg exclaimed. "Hey, this is my arm we're talking about… I'm not here for target practice you know."

Suddenly, the med tech forewarned his victim of what was about to take place.

"Ok, Mr. Bogg. You're gonna feel a little stick."

"It better be 'a little stick'" Bogg warned.

"Eeeeooooowwww!" Bogg yelled. "That was far from a little stick! Ouch! That hurts!"

"Mr. Bogg, you need to relax." He urged. "If you tense up, it will make it hurt ten times worse."

"Don't you worry about how relaxed I am!" Bogg exclaimed in a stressed tone. "You just hurry up and get what you need and get outta there."

At that moment, the med tech removed the needle from Bogg's arm. "I'm done. You can have your arm back now."

"Geeze…is there anything left of it. Owwww…that hurt!" Bogg said as he winced in pain.

The med tech gathered his supplies and left the room, pushing his cart in front of him. Once he was out of earshot, Bogg grabbed his arm and moaned in pain. As he continued to cradle his tender arm to relieve his agony, two more med techs appeared at the door and walked inside.

"Mr. Bogg. We are here to take you down to the imaging department for your scans." One of the med techs announced as she pulled up the protective rails on the gurney.

"This is not gonna hurt, is it?" Bogg asked.

"Nope, not at all, Mr. Bogg." The second med tech replied. "They just put you on this table and put a thing over your head that looks like a football helmet and shove you into this long tube. It's a bit dark and claustrophobic, but it doesn't hurt at all."

"Ok, then. As long as there are no needles involved, you can take me." Bogg commanded.

The two rolled the Voyager down to the imaging department. After what seemed like an eternity of feeling like the filling inside of a Twinkie, Bogg returned to the exam room and waited for his next bit of torture.

For the next two hours, Bogg was subjected to things that even he couldn't even imagine. Every five minutes or so, someone was coming into his room, wanting some bit of his mind or body.

"_Mr. Bogg, stick out your tongue and say aaaaaahhhhh."_

"_Wake up Mr. Bogg; we need you to blow into this tube so we can assess your lung function."_

"_Mr. Bogg, we just need a teensy weensy bit more blood for another lab test."_

"_Mr. Bogg can we get a urine sample?"_

"_Mr. Bogg. I'm sorry, but I need to swab of the inside of your nose."_

"_Mr. Bogg. I need to palpate your feet to look for any swelling."_

"_Mr. Bogg. We need to do an EKG. That chest hair will have to go._

Even as taxing and irritating as these things were, nothing had prepared him for what was yet to come. As Bogg began to doze off from sheer exhaustion, another med tech came walking through the door. Once inside, he looked around the room and then closed the door behind him.

"Mr. Bogg. Wake up!"

Bogg moaned and then opened his eyes.

"Ok, now what? More blood? A strand of hair? No…let me guess, you want me to stand on my head while you take my blood pressure." Bogg quipped sarcastically.

"No, nothing like that. I'm here to do a DRE on you." The med tech announced confidently.

"A DRE? What's that?" Bogg asked curiously.

"A digital rectal exam of course." The med tech replied. "The doctor wants your prostate checked."

"Wait a minute…I've lost my memory. What's my prostate got to do with it?" Bogg asked as he suddenly flinched at the thought.

"I don't know but I'm not the doctor here. I just do what I'm told and I was told to come and do the exam. Now, if you'll quit asking silly questions, we'll get on with this. If you would, please I need you to drop your trousers and roll over on your side." The med tech barked as he quickly snapped a glove over his right hand and pointed his finger toward the ceiling."

"Oh no! No…no…noooooo!" Bogg exclaimed as he slowly nodded his head in disagreement. "You people have poked me, bled me, hammered me, squeezed me, swabbed me, plucked me and if that wasn't enough you've grilled me for information. And up 'till now, I've been very cooperative in light of all the pain I've had to endure. But this! I don't think so… I really don't think so."

"So Mr. Bogg, you are refusing to submit to this exam?" The med tech asked impatiently.

"You got that right!" Bogg exclaimed. "Nothing personal, but your finger ain't goin' nowhere near where the sun don't shine! Got it! If the doctor wants to check out that part of my body; he'll just have to take a picture."

"Ok, have it your way. I'll let Dr. Neumann know." The med tech replied as he removed his glove and left the room.

"You be sure and do that." Bogg mumbled to himself.

With the first round of tests having been completed, Bogg, who was left totally exhausted from the whole ordeal, had been transferred from the exam room into his own private room. Within minutes of his arrival, he was lying comfortably in his bed and had fallen fast asleep. In the hallway just outside his room, Susan had met up with Dr. Neumann and had all but started an inquisition of her own.

"Doctor, do you know what's happened to Phineas?" Susan whispered as she peeped inside to see if Bogg was still sleeping.

"Well, yes and no. At this point, the findings are pretty much preliminary. However, I can tell you this. Mr. Bogg here is healthy as a horse. I can't find anything physically wrong with him. But mentally, that's a different story."

"What do you mean?"

"It seems as though your colleague has suffered from some form of acute memory loss. We've ran several brain scans on him and the preliminary findings confirm this. It's as if certain memories from his past have just been lifted from his brain.

"Lifted?" Susan asked curiously. "I don't understand."

"Lifted is one term for it. One can just as easily use the term 'erased' as well."

"Erased? How could that happen?" Susan asked.

"In most circumstances, memory loss can be attributed to some sort of blunt force trauma to the skull. That is not the case here. There's no sign of trauma anywhere on Mr. Bogg's person."

"Ok, so if he's not been physically hurt, how could his memories have just disappeared?"

"Memory loss can be caused by other factors." Dr. Neumann replied. "Occasionally, some medications can cause a person to lose their memory."

"Phineas hasn't been on any medications." Susan said pointedly. "Matter of fact, he really doesn't like going to doctors at all."

"It must be their bedside manner." Dr. Neumann mumbled to himself.

A puzzled look came over Susan's face. "Excuse me. I didn't quite get that."

"I said it must be their bedside manner." He repeated as his cheeks took on a rosy glow. "I'm sorry, I was going for a bit of humor there."

"Oh, umm…ok." Susan acknowledged.

"Has he recently experienced any sort of traumatic loss? Usually when a traumatic event occurs in one's life, this can cause the brain to literally shutdown and block the memories associated with the event."

"He has had nothing like that happen to him." Susan responded. "So if it wasn't caused by any of this, then what has caused his loss of memory?"

"There is…one other cause that I haven't mentioned." Dr. Neumann said as he rubbed his chin. "His memory loss could have been caused by changes in his timeline."

"Timeline changes?" Susan said in disbelief. "That means…"

"Someone, specifically someone with an omni has gone back to some point in Mr. Bogg's past and made unauthorized changes to his timeline."

Susan touched her lip with her finger, a bit shaken up by the obvious.

"Someone like… that devious Drake." She mumbled to herself.

"What?" The doctor asked.

"Oh, sorry! I was just thinking out loud." Susan replied.

At this point, Dr. Neumann reached over and grabbed Bogg's medical chart from the wall. After thumbing through its pages for a time, he came upon the results of the brain scans that had been performed earlier. For a moment, he skimmed through the data hoping to further confirm his suspicions.

"Hmm… there are some indications of temporal flux here."

"Temporal flux?" Susan asked curiously. "What's that?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Temporal flux is the technical term for it. Let's just say there are indications of timeline changes in the memory patterns of Mr. Bogg's brain.

"So doctor, if in fact someone has made changes to his timeline, causing his original memories to be erased and/or rewritten, why is it that he can still recall bits and pieces of some of those memories?"

"It's like this. The human brain is a very complex organ. We as clinicians have a pretty good understanding of how it functions, but there are some aspects of it that are still unknown. The problem is, just when you think you've figured out the basics of how it functions, someone throws in the time travel piece and things really get interesting."

"Ok, I understand that the ability to change the timeline introduces a whole new set of rules when dealing with the brain, but doctor, I still don't understand. How is he able to remember bits of those erased memories?"

"I'm sorry. I got off track there for a moment. You see, sometimes, when a person suffers from memory loss due to a change in their timeline, some of the memories are not totally erased or replaced with new ones. There are some areas of the brain that are only partially lifted or erased. In these cases, the person can, with some prompting, recall some of the memories which existed before the change. These are called phantom memories. It's like when you go somewhere for the first time and then feel as if you've been there before."

"Déjà vu." Susan prompted.

"Yes, now you grasp it." Dr. Neumann acknowledged.

"So doctor, where do we go from here?"

"For now, Mr. Bogg needs to rest and regain his strength."

"What can I do to help?" She asked eagerly.

"The best thing you can do for him at this point is to try and figure out what caused the changes to his timeline." Once you determine that, we'll be one step closer to resolving Mr. Bogg's memory loss."

"I don't have any idea where to start with this one. This is a mystery without many clues."

"Well, maybe I can help you there." He reassured. "You know, the entire time that Mr. Bogg has been here, he's been repeating this one name over and over."

"Jeffrey?" Susan asked.

Dr. Neumann was stunned. "Yes, how did you know?"

"Jeffrey is his son." Susan explained. "He is also a Voyager and Phineas' partner. They went everywhere together. But when I met Phineas at the elevator at Voyager Headquarters, he was not with him. Not only that, but he had all but forgotten about him."

"Let that be your first clue." Dr. Neumann acknowledged. "Find Jeffrey and I'd say you'll be one step closer to solving this mystery."

"But what about Phineas?" Susan asked with a note of concern in her voice. "I can't just leave him here."

"Susan, Mr. Bogg will be fine." He reassured. "As I said, he needs to rest and regain his strength. The shock of all this has been way too much for him. The staff here will watch over him and see to his needs. You just need to concentrate on finding Jeffrey."

"Thank you doctor." She replied. "I think I'll check on him before I go. If that's ok."

"Sure, go ahead. If I can help you in any way, you know where to look me up."

Susan turned and walked slowly through the door to Bogg's room, her eyes firmly affixed on her former love as she made her way ever closer to him. Upon arriving at his bedside, she reached down and affectionately clasped his hand in her own.

"Phineas, don't you worry about Jeffrey." She whispered. "You just rest and get your strength back. I'll find him and figure out what's happened."

After touching the corner of her eye briefly with her knuckle, she leaned over and lightly kissed Bogg on the forehead. With this, she lowered his hand and placed it on the bed at his side.

As she started to leave the room, her mind was already working at top speed attempting to figure out what to do next.

"Hmmmm…" She whispered to herself. "From the looks of things, I'd say I'm gonna need some help with this one and I know just the person to talk to.


	5. Timeslips

**_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
><strong>**REBELLION - BOOK 7  
><strong>**(Sequel to Old Friends, New Beginnings)  
><strong>**By DA Daugherty(VoyagersFan)  
><strong>**December 2011  
><strong>**Previous disclaimers apply****

**Chapter 4 - TIMESLIPS **

Inside Mission Control, things were not running so smoothly. The day had started out somewhat normally, but within a couple of hours of the arrival of the morning shift employees, chaos had ensued. There had been no time for the usual morning cup of coffee, or for that matter, that gooey-sweet cinnamon roll from the box delivered to the breakroom by the cafeteria staff. This, along with the current state of affairs had the normally calm and collected Lindsey Connors almost at the breaking point. For hours, her console had been beeping and flashing timeline error messages faster than she could dispatch personnel to resolve them. The problem was, she hadn't the faintest clue why. Not only that, but many of the timeline errors she was observing, seemed vaguely familiar to her, as if they had already been resolved sometime in the past. Then in the midst of it all, when she thought she had everything under control, the unthinkable happened. She had dispatched every last active Voyager available to fix the overwhelming myriad of problems. At this point, there was no one left to send out into the field.

"Now what do I do?" Connors mumbled to herself as she leaned back in her chair and threw her arms into the air.

At that moment, Susan walked through the door and strolled over to Connor's desk.

"Hi, Lindsey."

"Susan!" Connors exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, it's a long story. Hey, you look really stressed. Are you ok?"

"Not really." Connors replied as she took a deep cleansing breath. "It's just been a bad morning. But enough about me, what brings you to Mission Control?"

"Lindsey, I really need a big favor." Susan stated with a tone of desperation.

"Not half as big a favor as I need from you right now." Connors quipped. "Could I talk you into going out into the field? If you'll do this for me, I promise, I'll buy you a whole box of those crumble-topped blueberry muffins you love so much."

"Lindsey, while I would never pass up a chance at one of my favorite treats, do you realize it's been years since I've been out in the field. Isn't there someone else more qualified that you can send instead?"

"That's just it, Susan. There's no one left to send. Everyone's on assignment."

"Every active Voyager is out in the field?" Susan asked curiously. "That's weird… Hasn't this happened to you once before?"

"Yes, you remember. It happened months ago and now it's happened again." Connors replied with a sigh. "I don't know what I'm gonna do."

"So what's going on now?" Susan asked.

"Well, it all started earlier today." Connors explained. "Everything was proceeding normally and then it was like the whole of the historical timeline just collapsed into chaos. Ever since then, my console has been flashing timeline error messages at the rate of 10 or 15 a minute."

"Wait a minute… Lindsey, did you say this started earlier today?" Susan asked.

"Yes, I say…oh…around three or four hours ago. Why?"

"Hmmm…I wonder…" Susan mumbled to herself.

"Lindsey, I think I may have an idea of what has caused your problems."

"Ok, Susan, I'm game… tell me… what is happening here?"

Susan began to explain the events which had previously occurred. Connors sat and listened, intensely focused on her every word.

"So you think something has happened to Jeffrey?" Connors asked.

"Yes, something has happened to Jeffrey and not only that, but someone has been tinkering around with Bogg's past."

"Could it be Drake again?" Connors asked curiously.

"Possibly. But I really don't know yet. Lindsey, this is a mystery without any clues, well, maybe one clue… Jeffrey. I need to find him. He's the key to all of this and I need to find him quickly."

Connors turned back to her console. She began typing feverishly on her keyboard.

"What are you doing?" Susan asked.

"Attempting to find Jeffrey. Oh…wait! I found him! He's in the 1982 time zone at the time and place of his parent's death."

"Good work, Lindsey." Susan acknowledged as she jumped to her feet. "I better go there and see what happened."

"Wait!" Connors barked. "Don't leave yet. He's not there any longer."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm attempting to trace his path through time to try to determine where he is." Connors replied.

After a few moments had passed, Connors lowered her head and slowly nodded in disbelief.

"This can't be." Connors whispered. "This just can't be. Susan, you better come and take a look at this."

Susan stepped over to the console and began reading the information that was displayed.

"Oh, my! No! It can't be!" Susan exclaimed as she gasped in shock. "It says here that Jeffrey was killed in an accident in 1985. He was riding his bicycle down the road when he was hit by an oncoming vehicle. He never recovered from his injuries. Lindsey is this true?"

With a tear in her eye, Connors turned to her friend and confirmed the worst.

"Yes, Susan. As much as I hate to say it, it's true. Jeffrey is dead." Connors then clicked a few keys and a newsprint image displayed on the screen. "Here is his obituary to prove it."

Susan briefly read the contents and was overwrought with emotion. She cupped her head in her hands as she walked over and sat down in a nearby chair. Connors rose from her chair and followed, attempting to console her.

"I know how you feel, Susan." Connors said softly. "This is going to be an extreme blow to all of us who knew and loved the little guy. Not to mention Bogg. Who is going to tell him?"

Susan lifted her head slowly and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I…I guess I'll have to tell him." She said as she sobbed. "He needs to know."

"Let me come with you." Connors asked. "Right now, he needs support and love from all his friends and colleagues, especially after this loss."

"Oh...Ok. Sure." Susan replied as she attempted to calm her emotions and regain her composure. "Lindsey, even though Jeffrey is gone, it still doesn't tell me what happened. What was he doing back at the time of his parents' accident? Not only that, but why was he riding down the road on his bicycle in 1985? There's a mystery here and obviously it involves both Bogg and Jeffrey. I need to find out what happened…for Bogg's sake. But how? With Jeffrey gone, how am I ever going to figure this one out?"

"For now, you need to concentrate on helping Bogg get through this tragic news as well as helping him get back on his feet again. Tell you what… You go and attend to Bogg… I'll see if I can meet with Supervisor Roberts about this. Maybe he can set up a meeting with the Director so that we can determine what to do next."

"Do you think there's a chance we can fix whatever has happened and get Jeffrey back?" Susan asked with a sullen tone.

"Well, you know as much as I know at the moment. As I see it, anything is possible." Connors replied. "But first, we must figure out what has occurred and then determine the best possible way to fix it without causing any other problems. Like I said. Why don't you go and attend to Bogg and let me take care of all the remaining details, ok?"

Susan raised her chin and attempted to smile as she rose from her seat. "Thank you, Lindsey. You are such a great friend… I guess I'll go and give Phineas…"

At this point in her conversation, Susan again lost control of her emotions. After a moment of silence, she again raised her head then pulled herself to her feet and walked toward the door.

"Susan are you gonna be ok?" Connors asked.

"I'll be ok. This is going to be extremely difficult. This is going to be one of the hardest things I've ever had to do."

Susan reached the doors to Mission Control. She placed her hand on the handle and paused for a moment, before her colleague broke the silence.

"Susan… wait!" Connors prompted.

Susan released the handle, before she turned to face Connors.

"Maybe it's not such a good idea to tell him just yet." Connors said softly. "The two of you have been through so much today, with his amnesia and all. Why don't you go home and get some rest and wait and tell him tomorrow."

"But Lindsey, he has to know." Susan responded with despair in voice. "It wouldn't be right not to tell him."

Connors walked over and put her arm around her colleague.

"I'm not saying not to tell him." Connors whispered in a reassuring way. "I'm just saying; let him get a good night's rest first. That way, he'll be better prepared to handle the terrible news in the morning. Not only that, but I really do believe you should get some rest as well."

Susan stood there for a moment and thought about what her colleague had just said to her.

"You know, you're right. It would do neither of us any good for me to go and tell him right now. I think I'll take your advice, go home and get some rest. It'll give me a chance to come to grips with it so that I can be better prepared to help Phineas deal with the loss in the morning."

"I agree." Connors acknowledged.

"We'll talk again in the morning." Susan said before turning toward the door.

For a moment, Connors watched as Susan slowly strolled through the doors of Mission Control. From a distance, it was obvious that her grief was causing her to struggle to put one foot in front of the other.

Once she had left the room, Connors rose from her seat and made her way over to her supervisor's office to inform him of the situation. As she approached the door, Supervisor Marcus Roberts was sitting behind his desk, totally engrossed in the responsibilities of the day.

"Excuse me, sir. May I have a word with you?" Connors asked politely.

Roberts looked up from his work for a brief time to notice his best employee standing at the door. He then picked up the stack of paperwork he was attending to and set it aside.

"Miss Connors… Please, do come in and have a seat. I'm just trying to deal with all this confounded paperwork that has to be done. So, what brings you here?"

"Sir, you know that I would never bother you unless there was some major issue that needed to be brought to your attention. Unfortunately, such an issue has reared its ugly head."

"Not another fiasco." Roberts said as he sighed. "Well, you better fill me in."

"Sir, it all started earlier today when the number of timeline errors started going off the scales. Not only that, but I was dealing with some issues that I can explicitly recall having dealt with months if not years ago."

"Reoccurring timeline issues?" Roberts repeated as he sat back in his chair and interlaced his fingers. "That shouldn't happen."

"I know sir, but it is happening." Connors argued. "Right now, there so many issues that need to be resolved that I've run out of active personnel to send."

"Sounds like a problem we've visited before… Go ahead, continue…"

"In the midst of all this historical chaos, Susan shows up with a problem of her own. One which, I believe is related to this entire mess."

"What's Susan's problem? She's an intelligent Voyager as well as one heck of a legal counsel. I would think there isn't a problem she couldn't resolve on her own."

"Sir, she was in over her head with this one. It seems that Phineas Bogg arrived here earlier today, showing symptoms of some sort of memory loss. The doctor on his case seems to think it is related to some unauthorized changes in his timeline."

"Unauthorized changes?" Roberts repeated as he sat up and leaned over his desk. "That means someone with access to an omni…"

"Yes, sir. It's either one of our own or even worse, someone who has unauthorized access to an omni." She agreed. "But that isn't the half of it. In addition to Bogg's memory loss, his partner Jeffrey has disappeared."

"Jeffrey? Did you attempt to trace his whereabouts?" Roberts asked. "A Voyager can't just disappear without a trace."

"Yes sir, I followed his time trace back to the time of his parent's accident in 1982, then from there, to the year 1985. It was at that point in history that I found that young Jeffrey had died as a result of an accident."

"What was he doing in 1982?" Roberts asked. "I thought he was with Bogg. As I recall, those two were joined at the hip, otherwise virtually inseparable. Wherever you saw one of them, the other was only a few steps away. Miss Connors, this just makes no sense."

"I agree sir. Neither Susan nor I understand what has occurred. All we know is it involves Jeffrey and Bogg. The problem is we don't have all the details yet to make a clear determination of the events which have occurred."

"Have you spoken with Bogg about this?" Roberts asked.

"No sir. Bogg is currently a patient at Voyager Medical. According to Susan they are trying to treat him for his memory loss, but they are as much at a loss for what has happened as we are."

"I'd say, since Jeffrey is no longer with us, our next contact should be Bogg. Go over to Voyager Medical and see if you can talk with him. Try to find out what happened. Even the slightest bit of information no matter how small can be a clue to what happened. In the meantime, I'll contact the Director and see if I can arrange a meeting to discuss this situation and determine what to do next."

"Thank you sir. I'll get right on it." Connors acknowledged as she got up to leave the room.

"Please let me know what you find out."

"I will sir."


	6. A Friend In Need

_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
><strong>**REBELLION - BOOK 7  
><strong>**(Sequel to Old Friends, New Beginnings)  
><strong>**By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
><strong>**December 2011  
><strong>**Previous disclaimers apply**

**Chapter 5 – A FRIEND IN NEED **

The next day, Susan arrived early at Voyager Medical to check on her colleague as well as to deliver the gut wrenching news she now carried inside of her. As she entered Bogg's room, he opened his eyes, smiled and greeted her warmly.

"Hi there!" Bogg said in a deep, warm tone. "What brings you here so early?"

Hiding her sadness behind a fake smile, she slowly walked over to his bedside and grasped his hand in her own.

"I came to check on you and to see how you were doing."

Bogg smiled as he lifted her hand and kissed it, like a gentleman.

"So…" Susan prompted.

"So…what?" Bogg replied.

"So, how are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm doing quite well. Especially now that I am in the presence of a lovely lady."

Susan swooned upon hearing Bogg's softly spoken words.

"Thank you, Phineas. But I really was referring to the status of your ailments." Susan said in her usual soft spoken voice.

"I'm doing fine, Susan. As a matter of fact the doc says I'll be outta here in a few days."

"What about your memory?"

"Doc says it'll work itself out, eventually. It'll just take time." He replied. "Now…who exactly are you?"

With Bogg's latest tease, the color literally vanished from Susan's face.

"I'm Susan… don't you remember?"

Bogg chucked a bit. "I'm sorry. I know who you are. You looked as if you needed a laugh, but maybe that didn't go over quite as well as I thought it would."

With this, Susan collapsed onto the bed, sobbing profusely, with her face clasped in her hands.

"Hey…hey there now." Bogg consoled. "I know my jokes are bad, but I've never made anyone cry before."

"Phineas…it's not that…" Susan said as she tried to regain her composure. "I… have some… really bad news… I just don't know how to tell you…"

Bogg sat up in bed and put his arm around his grieving friend. "Shhh…it's gonna be ok…" He whispered. "I'm strong, I can take it. So…whatever it is…go ahead and tell me, ok?"

"Phineas…it's about Jeffrey."

"What about him?" Bogg asked. "Up until this morning, I had all but forgotten about my little pain…I mean…the son that I have."

"Phineas… Jeffrey is dead!" Susan exclaimed before succumbing once again to her emotions.

"What! Jeffrey... is dead?" Bogg repeated in disbelief. "How? Why?"

"Lindsey and I found out Jeff went back in time…"

"Yes, back to the time of his parent's accident." Bogg interjected. I knew about that."

"How did you know?" Susan asked.

"I may have lost my memory, but some of it is slowly beginning to come back to me."

"Can you tell me what happened?" Susan asked.

"Well… all I remember was there was this argument. He wanted to go back and save them. I said no. He didn't understand and went ahead anyway. That's when he set his training omni and went back to the time of the accident in 1982. I followed him and tried to stop him, but it was too late. By the time I arrived, he had already prevented the accident from occurring. The next thing I remember is waking up in this room."

At this point, Bogg lowered his head as he began to sob.

"How…Susan? Tell me…How did he die?" Bogg pleaded with his friend.

"He died from an accident in 1985, three years after his parent's accident. He was riding his bicycle and was hit by an oncoming vehicle."

"Oh Jeff…" Bogg whispered as he shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe it… my son… my partner… Jeffrey… is gone." He then looked up at his colleague. "He was everything to me and the son that I never dreamed of having. We were just beginning to build a life together. How could this have happened? How will I go on without him? How?"

"Oh Phineas!" Susan replied as she again wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so…so very sorry. I don't know what to say at this point. I feel like someone has stabbed me in the heart. I cannot even imagine the hurt that is going on inside of you right now."

The two Voyagers sat there in each other's arms, attempting to come to grips with what had occurred and trying to help each other through their grieving. After a time, the emotionally beset Voyager let go of his love, sat back and rested his head on the pillow. For a time, he remained silent before slipping back into the past and reminiscing about his partner.

"You know, I remember the time when we first met. When I landed outside his bedroom window and then climbed inside…" Bogg said as he wiped his eyes and attempted to force a smile. "I can still see the frightened look on his face as I stood up and barked out at him."

"I remember that story." Susan affirmed as she sniffled and wiped a tear from her eye. "I could not imagine something like that happening to me at his age."

"Then, there was the time when he went and assisted Edison with the invention of the light bulb. I was tied up saving Lawrence of Arabia and he carried that assignment off without a hitch. I was so proud of him and what he had accomplished."

"He was a good kid." Susan boasted. "I remember when we called the two of you back here for his fourteenth birthday party. You remember we tricked you both into thinking you were being called back for a disciplinary hearing and review."

"Yea, I remember that one." Bogg replied.

"I remember how scared he was when Lindsey contacted the two of you. But, in light of the circumstances, you were able to reassure him and calm his fears. He trusted you implicitly. I'll never forget that little talk you gave him before you arrived at Mission Control."

"I remember that little talk." Bogg acknowledged.

"That one conversation not only demonstrated your love for him, but it also let him know you would be there to protect him no matter what."

"I meant every word of it, too." Bogg said softly as he started to tear up again. "It's just too bad I couldn't have been there for him this time, when he needed me the most."

"Phineas, don't blame yourself… It's not your fault."

"I can't help it." Bogg exclaimed. "It is my fault! I should have anticipated what he was going to do and stopped him. Now, it's too late. He's gone and I'll never see him again."

Bogg closed his eyes and tried to relax as he attempted to get a grip on the emotions still churning inside of him. Susan reached over and began to rub his hand as she continued to console him.

"This is not your fault." Susan whispered. "You may feel responsible, but Jeffrey knew exactly what he was doing. He knew that going back and making changes to events in his own timeline would have a direct effect on his own life. I'm sure you did all that you could to stop him."

"I'm not so sure about that." He replied. "I really don't think he actually realized just how broad and encompassing the effects of his changes would be."

"Phineas, he was a smart kid. He had to have known."

"That's just it… Before he left, we were arguing about this. I was trying to explain to him what could happen if he went back and tried to save his parents. He didn't believe me. And now he's gone."

"Again…It's not your fault." Susan reassured.

"I'm a Voyager. I've been trained to anticipate these things and to react to them accordingly. It's quite obvious that in this situation, I've failed in my responsibilities to Jeff and in my duties as a Voyager. What I did just wasn't enough."

Susan sat for a moment, silent, trying to see beyond Bogg's self incrimination and find something positive to glean from it.

"Phineas, you did what you had to do. If I were in your shoes, I would have done the exact same thing. It was all you could do. You have to realize you are only a Voyager. You don't have the power to make every situation bow to your will. There is only so much you can do as a Voyager and as a person for that matter to change a given situation. Once that's done, fate has to take its course. It's inevitable and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

"I know. But that doesn't make me feel any better about it, nor does it make it right." Bogg quipped.

Susan again was determined to make Bogg see reason. "One other thing… Blaming yourself no matter how determined you are will not bring Jeffrey back. It's just as unproductive as trying to dry a shark with a towel."

Bogg nodded his head as tears once again welled up in his eyes.

"I'm gonna miss him so." He whispered.

"I know, Phineas… I know…" She whispered. "We all are going to miss him."

After a time, Bogg slowly closed his eyes as Susan remained at his side, ever watching over him.


	7. The Inquisition

_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
><strong>**REBELLION - BOOK 7  
><strong>**(Sequel to Old Friends, New Beginnings)  
><strong>**By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
><strong>**December 2011  
><strong>**Previous disclaimers apply**

**Chapter 6 – THE INQUISITION**

An hour had passed. By this time, Susan was about to doze off herself, when, at that moment, Lindsey Connors walked through the door of Bogg's room.

"Susan." She called out softly.

Susan looked up as Connors made her way over to her.

"How's he taking it?" Connors whispered.

"He's taking it about as well as I am." She replied. "Have you found out anything more?"

"Nothing yet. But I can tell you, the Director has scheduled a meeting later today to discuss what has happened and to come up with a plan to straighten it out. Do you think Bogg will be able to attend?"

Before she could provide an answer to Connor's question, Susan was suddenly interrupted. Bogg slowly opened his eyes and peered at the two of them.

"I WILL be there. YOU two can COUNT on THAT!" Bogg barked. "There has to be a way to fix this problem. There must be a way to get Jeffrey back."

"Bogg, how are you doing?" Connors asked as she walked over and sat in a chair by the window. "How's your memory?"

"Lindsey, I'm doing fine. My memory is coming back in bits and pieces. But thankfully it is coming back."

"Are you sure you will be up to attending this meeting?" Connors asked with concern. "You know, you've been through quite a lot these past few days. You wouldn't want to overtax yourself."

"I'll be just fine." He reassured. "Besides, this is Jeff's life we are talking about here. If there's a chance…even a slim one to get my son back… I want to be there. He's my son and I want him back, you hear! Even if I have to break every last rule in the Voyager Code book to do so, I want him back."

"When's the meeting?" Susan asked.

"It's at two pm this afternoon in the main conference room."

"Tell the powers that be, we'll be there… every last one of us." Bogg quipped before again closing his eyes.

Susan rose from the bed and took a seat over near the window beside her colleague.

"Well, I guess the powers that be have spoken." Susan teased. "And 'we'll be there, every last one of us.'"

Connors smiled for a moment. "And Emperor Bogg has spoken. So let it be done!"

The two chuckled quietly to themselves, trying not to awaken his royal highness.

"Lindsey, what brings you here? I'm surprised with all the goings-on over at Mission Control you were able to get away."

"I'm actually here at the request of Supervisor Roberts to talk with Bogg. He wants to know if he remembers anything that might prove beneficial to resolving our problem."

"Well, he has recovered some of his memory. Maybe he can tell us something more about what happened." Susan whispered.

"Your Highness, I mean Bogg…are you awake?" Connors prompted. "I need to ask you some questions if you are up to it."

The Voyager slowly opened his eyes as he took a deep breath, yawned and stretched his arms.

"Sure Lindsey, I'm game. Go for it."

"First of all, based on what you can currently recall, can you tell us about what happened between you and Jeffrey two days ago?" Connors asked as she retrieved her notepad and pen. "You know, before you arrived here."

"What I can recall Lindsey is that Jeff and I were in an argument. And a very heated argument at that."

"What was the argument about?"

"Jeff wanted to go back to the time of his parent's accident and stop it from happening. He still has feelings for them, you know."

"His parents were already gone. Did he explain why he wanted to do this?"

"I asked that same question. WHY? Jeff's only answer was that it was his obligation. If there was any way to stop the accident from occurring, his parents would want him to do so."

"Was that his only reason for preventing the accident?"

"That and his deeply rooted love for them. As I see it, he had no other motives for doing so."

Bogg sat up in bed and stared at his two colleagues with a rather puzzled look.

"What is going on here?" He asked curiously. "I'm beginning to feel as if I'm at a Voyager Tribunal; either that or a disciplinary hearing."

"I'm sorry, Bogg." Connors said warmly, apologizing for her rather uncouth way of handling the situation. "This was not meant to be an inquisition or to put you on the spot. I'm just here to find out the facts prior to today's meeting. That's it, nothing else."

"Ok." Bogg replied. "But for a minute there, I was beginning to wonder."

At that point, Susan joined Connors in the questioning.

"Phineas. To go back in time, Jeffrey would have had to acquire an omni. Obviously you still have yours in your possession. You told me earlier he had a training omni. Where did he get it?"

"He got it a while back as a gift from a friend of mine."

"I thought training omnis had a limited time travel capability, Lindsey. Isn't that true?" Susan asked.

"Yes, training Omnis only allow the user to go back for a brief period of time and only to those time periods that are allowed by the instructor." Connors explained.

"Then how was he able to go back and prevent the accident?" Susan asked curiously.

Bogg chimed in. "I'll tell you how. When he was given the omni, it was set up with limits on what he could do and it was linked with my own omni, since I am technically his instructor. He begged me to remove the restrictions under his solemn word that he would not do anything that would break the Voyager code or otherwise. Since he had used my omni on his own on many occasions and had proven to me he could be responsible with a fully functional omni, I decided to remove the restrictions. After what has happened, I now realize that decision was a huge mistake on my part."

"You said you attempted to stop him from going back in time, but failed. Can you tell us what exactly happened?" Connors asked.

"Like I said, we were in a heated argument about this and other things. At one point, he got up to leave the cabin and that's when he pulled out his training omni and started adjusting the dials. He then informed me of what he was going to do and told me not to stop him."

"Then what happened?" Connors asked.

"I pulled out my omni and attempted to lock out his controls. But by that time, it was too late. In an instant he had vanished. All I could do was set my omni to follow him. And that's what I did."

"What happened when you arrived at the site of the accident in 1982?" Susan asked.

"After I landed, I surveyed the area in an attempt to locate Jeff. I finally spotted him. He was on the side of the road several yards away looking at his omni. I yelled at him to stop what he was doing and reconsider, but he ignored me. At that moment, the Jones' station wagon and camper came speeding down the road past me, leaving me in a cloud of dust. Once I had emerged from the dust cloud, I could see the Jones' vehicle and camper parked on the side of the road. Jeff was nowhere to be seen. The only thing I found was his omni lying in the middle of the road."

"Did you call out for him?" Connors asked.

"Of course I did." He quipped. "I called out for him several times, but he was not there. But then, something strange happened."

"Something strange?" Susan asked. "What happened, Phineas?"

"All around me, things began to change. Airplanes in the sky, just…vanished. The road under my feet, turned into a hayfield and a tree just instantly sprung up beside me."

"Then what happened?" Connors asked.

"I started feeling dizzy. I quickly grabbed hold of the tree next to me to keep from falling. After that, the next thing I remember is waking up here at Voyager Medical."

Lindsey looked at Susan and nodded her head.

"Well it looks like we know what happened here. It sounds like Jeff went back in time, saved his parents from their deaths and in the process changed his own timeline. Then as he changed his own timeline, he also modified Bogg's timeline as well, causing him some amnesia. Now I know why all those timeline errors that occurred yesterday seemed so familiar to me. I have seen them all before. Every last one of them are issues that Bogg and Jeff corrected while on assignment. Of course that's my take on it and I could be wrong."

"It sounds like a reasonable explanation to me." Susan agreed. "But what do we do now?"

"I just don't know the answer to that one at the moment." Connors replied with remorse. "Maybe we will be able to figure out something in this meeting this afternoon. I really don't know where to start to try to solve this one. The only Voyager that has ever gone back and tampered with history is Drake. Bogg and Jeff are the only two who have ever had to clean up a mess like this. With Jeff being a part of it and Bogg recovering from the effects of Jeff's tampering, there's really no one left to fix the situation."

Lindsey put away her notepad and quickly rose from her seat.

"Lindsey, where are you going?" Susan asked curiously.

Unfortunately, I must be getting back to Mission Control. I'll see the two of you later this afternoon. Ok?"

"Ok, we'll see you then." Susan replied.

As Connors left the room to return to her duties, Susan rose from her seat as well. Bogg immediately opened his eyes and followed her as she started toward the door.

"You're not leaving me, are you?" Bogg asked.

"Yes, Phineas." She replied. "You need to get some rest and I need to take care of a few things prior to the meeting this afternoon.

"You sure you can't stay a while longer?" Bogg asked.

"No." Susan said warmly. "Like I said, you need to get some rest. Ok? I'll come by later to get you, ok?"

"Ok. I'll try to get some rest."


	8. Break A Rule, Save A Life

_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
><strong>**REBELLION - BOOK 7  
><strong>**(Sequel to Old Friends, New Beginnings)  
><strong>**By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
><strong>**December 2011  
><strong>**Previous disclaimers apply**

**Chapter 7 – BREAK A RULE, SAVE A LIFE **

It was 2:00 pm. In the main conference room just down the hall from Mission Control, the meeting to discuss how to solve the current mêlée in time was about to start. In attendance were Lindsey Connors, her supervisor Marcus Roberts, Director of Voyager Technical Services John Blake and Chancellor Garth. As they waited for the arrival of Susan and Bogg, they sat around the large conference table, discussing events in their personal lives and other such trivial matters.

As a low rumble of conversation emanated from within the room, Susan, who was pushing Bogg along in a wheelchair, stopped momentarily just outside the door.

"Well, looks like we're here." She said as she took a deep breath. "Are you ready?"

"I'd say there's no time like the present." Bogg replied. "Let's go!"

With this Susan slowly rolled her patient into the room. As they made their way toward the conference table, the previous rumbling turned into an eerie dead silence as the members of the group watched the two. Once Bogg was comfortably seated, Susan rolled the wheelchair out of the way and sat down next to him. After this, Director Blake called the meeting to order.

"My fellow colleagues. It is time to call this meeting to order and begin the task of resolving the current problem that is before us. The purpose of this meeting is to analyze the current upheaval in the timeline that has been perpetrated by one of our own, Voyager Jeffrey Jones and determine how best to resolve it. While none of us here yet know all the facts relating to this situation, this meeting is not a tribunal. It is not within the scope of this meeting to lay blame or cast judgment on those involved. It is our task to uncover the facts which caused the situation, analyze them and develop a method or methods of resolving the situation so that the timeline may be restored to its original state. Are there any questions from the group before we get started?"

"Ok, since there are obviously no preliminary questions, let us proceed. Mission Specialist Connors, can you enlighten us as to the events which began yesterday?"

"Yes sir." Connors acknowledged. "Yesterday, around 10:00 or so in the morning, Mission Control began experiencing a rather large number of timeline errors. I might add, quite a few more than normal. These issues began cropping up anywhere from 5 to 10 or more per minute. They were coming in faster than I could dispatch personnel to resolve them. After about an hour, I had dispatched every last active Voyager we had and still had problems coming in."

"Miss Connors, was there any indication of what had caused these errors?" Chancellor Garth asked.

"No sir, no indication at all, but…"

"But…Miss Connors? There was something odd about them, wasn't it?" Roberts asked, prompting her for the answer he already knew.

"Yes sir. All of these errors in the timeline seemed vaguely familiar to me. It's as if I had seen them all before."

"So what happened next?" Director Blake asked.

"After a few hours, Susan unexpectedly showed up at Mission Control. She was on a mission to see me, no pun intended. She was having a problem and was desperate for me to help her. So I asked her to sit down and tell me about it. It was then she began telling me about what had happened earlier that morning with regard to Voyager Bogg."

"What did she say?" Chancellor Garth asked curiously.

"She told me that Bogg had unexpectedly lost his memory and Voyager Jeffrey Jones was missing. She felt that finding Jones was the key to solving the mystery of what had happened to Voyager Bogg and she wanted to enlist my help to locate him."

"What did you do next?" Chancellor Garth asked.

"I went over to my console and attempted to track Voyager Jones. It was then I discovered that his timeline temporarily stopped at the year 1982, at the time and location of his parent's tragic accident. But, soon after I discovered his timeline trace went further into the future and unexpectedly ended in the year 1985. This was where I found references to his death."

At this point, there were gasps coming from the members of the group as the shock of Jeffrey's demise had taken everyone in the room by surprise.

"Jeffrey Jones is dead?" Chancellor Garth asked.

"Yes sir, according to the accounts of that time period, he was struck by an oncoming vehicle while riding his bicycle down the street." Connors explained. "He never recovered from his injuries."

"How can that be?" Chancellor Garth asked with emotion. "There was nothing in the record about him dying prematurely."

"With all due respect Chancellor, that was before Voyager Jones tampered with his own timeline." Roberts interjected. "As you well know, when you tamper with your own timeline, anything can happen."

Chancellor Garth looked over at his learned colleague. "I'm sorry. I guess the shock of this news has somewhat clouded my logic. Please Miss Connors, do continue."

"That's about it as far as my part of the story. I think we need to hear Voyager Susan's part of the story."

"Voyager Susan, would you care to enlighten the group?" Director Blake asked.

"Sure. Well, my part of the story begins in the main hallway of Voyager Headquarters. I was walking down the hallway toward the elevator when I spotted Voyager Bogg standing in front of me at the elevator. I greeted him and he was surprised to see me. It was very unusual for him to be at VHQ, since he and Jeffrey normally spent most of their time out in the field. It was at that moment I inquired as to why he was here and asked him if he had been recalled. He told me that he was having problems with his omni and was here to have the boys upstairs take a look at it. This statement seemed very odd to me."

"Odd? How so, Susan?" Director Blake asked.

"Well, it had been less than a year since R&D had upgraded Voyager Bogg to their latest omni model. I couldn't imagine why he would be having issues with such a new device. It's been my experience that the newer Omnis are relatively problem free, the older models are the ones that give the most problems."

"Your assessment has a ring of truth to it, Susan." Director Blake acknowledged. "What happened next?"

"As the elevator door opened, we both stepped inside and at that point, I began to inquire about Jeffrey. I specifically asked him where his partner Jeffrey was."

"What was his response to you?" Connors asked.

"He said he didn't know who Jeffrey was. It was then I informed him that Jeffrey was his son. He then said 'if he had a son named Jeffrey, he would surely remember that.' When we reached our floor, we stepped out and I continued to explain that he indeed had a son and did my best to prod those memories from his mind. I knew at that point, something was definitely wrong. Voyager Bogg would never forget his own son. They were too close for that to happen. After much prodding, some of his memories of Jeffrey reemerged. It was then I knew I had to get him to Voyager Medical to be checked out."

At that moment, Director Blake interrupted and turned his attention to his assistant. "Do we have Voyager Bogg's medical record?"

His assistant shuffled through some files, before pulling out the file and handing it to him. He opened it and skimmed though its pages as silence engulfed the room.

Bogg leaned over and whispered to Susan. "That's the reason why I don't go to doctors. They write down every little ache, pain and quirky thing for the whole world to read. It's so embarrassing."

"Don't fret about it… Just be quiet, ok?" Susan admonished.

Director Blake again began to speak. "Looks like Dr. Neumann's diagnosis is acute memory loss due to interference with the patient's timeline. Luckily, for Voyager Bogg here, a great deal of the memory loss is not permanent. Thank you Voyager Susan for your report. Now, I believe it's time to hear from Voyager Bogg. If I'm correct, I believe his side of the story will tie the two previous stories together to form a complete picture. Voyager Bogg, if you would, please relate to us your side of the story."

Bogg cleared his throat and swallowed hard in an attempt to hold back the surge of emotions he was now feeling. At this point, he began to speak.

"Before all this occurred, Jeff and I had gotten into a pretty heated argument. Jeff was upset about something and he had been holding it inside of him. He had asked me if he could go back to the time of his parent's accident and save them from their fate. As his instructor, his friend as well as his dad, I explained to him that doing that was not possible. So my answer to his request was an emphatic no. Of course this led to a confrontation where he accused me of not allowing him any freedom to do things on his own and explore his abilities. As I recall, I accused him of implying that I was another Hitler or something because of my rigidness in parenting him. He then started to run away, but I was able to make him see reason, to stay and attempt to talk through the issues that were bothering him. He at that point, sat down and we began to talk about the issues as he perceived them. In his candor he told me he felt as if I were smothering him, like we were bound at the hip. In addition, I would not let him explore things on his own, to either succeed or fail at what he attempted."

"Voyager Bogg, isn't Jeffrey now entering his adolescent years?" Director Blake asked.

"Yes sir, he turned 14 not too long ago."

"Well, therein lies the problem." Director Blake said pointedly. "It's the hormones. He's in the that 'rebellion' phase. I know it all too well. My son Max, is about his age and he's going through that same thing. There are days when I absolutely want to hang him upside down from a tree by his toes."

Director Blake paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, I got off track there. I just wanted Bogg to know, I feel his pain, literally."

Bogg nodded. "Thank you sir."

"So Bogg, how did you respond to this bit of rebellion?" Director Blake asked.

"Well, I sat back and thought about what he had said for a moment. Upon reflection, I thought that maybe I had been a little restrictive with him. At that point I made a commitment to him to allow him the freedom to explore the possibilities and work things out. If he succeeded, then it was great, if he failed, he would learn and grow from his mistakes. I also told him that if the time came where I felt he was in over his head, I would take control of the situation without a second thought."

"Being a parent, that sounds like a reasonable approach to the issue." Director Blake commented. "How did he respond to your offer?"

"He was ok with it. At that moment I thought we had put these issues behind us, but boy was I ever wrong. Suddenly I was again faced with the question of going back and preventing his parent's accident. And again, my answer was an emphatic no. This sent him into a tailspin, as he still believed that I was being overly protective of him and keeping him from exploring the possibilities on his own. I tried to reinforce my decision by again explaining to him that if he went back and prevented this event from occurring, he would be tampering with his own timeline and in doing so, would change events that have occurred since that time. Changing this one event, could keep him from becoming a Voyager. It could also cause the two of us never to meet as well. The more I tried to make him see reason, the more he challenged me. It was obvious there was still an extreme love and dedication toward his parents. His words were, 'if there was any way to save them from their fate, they would want him to do it, regardless of the outcome.'"

"What happened next?" Connors asked.

"Before I knew it he had jumped to his feet and was headed toward the door. Then without warning he pulled out his training omni and began adjusting the dials. His next words were, 'I'm going back to save my parents. Don't try to stop me." At that point, I pulled my omni from my belt in an attempt to lock out his controls, but it was too late. He vanished before my very eyes. I then set my omni to follow him to 1982, where I once again attempted to stop him from changing the outcome of this event. By the time I had arrived, it was too late. The damage had already been done. His parents were safe and he was nowhere in sight. That was when things began to change all around me. Planes disappeared from the sky. The road underneath my feet changed into a hayfield. And a tree just sprung up beside me. After that, I remember becoming dizzy and hung on to the tree to keep from falling down. The next thing I remember, I was in Voyager Medical. And now, I find out my son is dead."

Bogg again succumbed to his emotions as Garth came to his side and Susan attempted to calm him.

Director Blake spoke up. "I think in light of the grief associated with Voyager Bogg's loss, we need to take a short recess to allow him the opportunity to regain his composure. Let's resume this meeting in say 20 minutes, if that's ok with everyone here."

There were no objections to Director Blake's recommendation. Even with the opportunity to get away as a result of a prolonged recess, not one person left the room. They all remained and huddled around their injured and grieving colleague in support, consoling him and helping him to deal with his loss.

Once the recess was over, Director Blake again called the meeting to order.

"Ok, now that we've heard the facts of the matter, are there any comments?"

Chancellor Garth spoke up. "From the looks of the whole situation, I'd say our whole problem was caused as a result of Voyager Jones' penchant to go back and save his parents from their untimely fate. While his actions were not in either his or his partner's best interest, his loyalty to his parents was in my opinion, unquestionable. Unfortunately, I have seen this kind of thing occur all too often throughout my years of being an instructor at Voyager Academy. In Voyager Jones' defense, it is one of the temptations of having an omni and being a Voyager. For those Voyagers who have had tragic events occur in their lives, like the loss of a loved one, a spouse, a child or a parent, the temptation to go back in time and undo those events which should have never happened in the first place is overwhelming. The power of one's love for a person or persons in this case can supersede any rules, regulations or logic that the person's conscious uses to persuade them otherwise."

"So, at this point, the next question is what do we do to resolve this? Can we undo the damage that has been done? Not only that, but there is one question that I know is on the mind of Voyager Bogg as well as several if not all of those in this room. That question is if we are able to correct the problems in the timeline, will we be able to save the life of our colleague Voyager Jones?"

"Any comments on what Chancellor Garth has just said." Director Blake asked.

"Yes, I have a comment." Connors acknowledged. "I believe this whole problem can be resolved and the life of Voyager Jones spared."

"I'm listening. Please do elaborate further." Roberts prompted.

"The solution to our problem is very simple. Someone must go back to the time of the accident and stop Voyager Jones from changing the outcome."

"I disagree." Director Blake said staunchly. "I believe we must go further back. Voyager Jones' meddling must be nipped in the bud, prior to his departure. Since Voyager Bogg was already part of the timeline leading up to the situation, we cannot send him. Doing so, will create a paradox in the timeline, since meeting one's self in the same point in time and space, could cause a tear in the fabric of space and time. Nope, we need someone else; someone who is close to Jones and whom he respects."

"What about Susan?" Bogg asked.

"Phineas, I don't believe I'm the best candidate for this mission. While Jeffrey respects me, I'm not quite sure he would listen to my recommendations. This calls for someone whom Jeffrey holds the utmost respect and admiration for; someone with the experience, wisdom and ability to make a person see reason. I believe that person is Chancellor Garth."

"Me?" Chancellor Garth questioned. "Me? Are you sure about that? You want a dried up ol' bureaucratic prune like me for an important assignment as this? It's been twenty years since I've been out in the field. The last omni I used was an old Model 1 omni. I wouldn't have a clue how to use these new-fangled high tech talking Omnis that we have now."

"Susan, I believe you do have a point." Director Blake replied. "Chancellor Garth here is the best candidate for the job. He has experience, wisdom and it's obvious that Voyager Jones has the utmost respect for him."

"But what about the omni?" Chancellor Garth asked nervously.

"If worse comes to worse, if after we train you, you still can't use one of the newer omnis, I'm sure we have an old working Omni-1 lying around somewhere collecting dust." Director Blake said with a hint of humor in his voice.

"I'll hold you to that." Chancellor Garth quipped.

"So, it's settled then. Chancellor Garth will go back to the time of the argument and stop Voyager Jones from pursuing his ill-fated venture. Are we in agreement?" Director Blake asked as he stood up and surveyed the room.

"There being no objections noted, then we shall proceed. Voyager Susan, I appoint you to prepare Chancellor Garth for his next mission into the field." Director Blake ordered. "Also, not wanting to leave anyone out, Voyager Bogg, if you are up to it, I would like for you to help with the preparations as well."

"Sure, no problem." Bogg replied. "That is if the doc will let me."

"Voyager Bogg, I'm sure that will be no problem."

"I have one question, Director Blake." Bogg prompted.

"Yes, what's your question?"

"Somehow in all our discussion we seem to have overlooked one important part. What about the Voyager Code? In sending Chancellor Garth back to stop Jeffrey from going through with his actions, will we not be violating the Voyager Code?"

"That's a very good question." Director Blake replied. "I believe the answer is a definite yes, isn't that correct, Chancellor?"

"Yes, that is correct. I'd say…in this case we'd be violating quite a few of them." He replied with a chuckle. "But these rules have already been violated."

"Are you saying the Voyager Code is not that important?" Bogg asked curiously.

"On the contrary, the Voyager Code is there for a reason. It's there to be a guide, to protect the timeline and to keep Voyagers from harm. But in this case, the damage has already been done. The rules have already been broken. Sometimes in order to resolve a problem caused by someone breaking the rules, one must break the rules again to fix it. As I see it, what's more important here? Breaking a rule or fixing the timeline. Or for that matter, saving a life? I'd say it's the latter in both instances. As far as the Voyager Code is concerned, you just let me worry about that one, ok?"

"Ok sir. As always I respect you, your observations and your judgment." Bogg replied.

"Oh…sir…One more thing…" Bogg asked.

"Yes, Bogg." Chancellor Garth replied.

"If we are able to save Jeff from his fate, what kind of trouble will he be in for violating the Voyager Code?"

For a moment, Chancellor Garth sat quietly, stroking his chin and pondering Bogg's question.

"Hmmm… well… as I see it. If we succeed in our mission, everything will go back to the way it was before Jeffrey went back and saved his parents from their fate. The timeline will be restored back to its original state and it will be as if none of this had ever occurred. The Voyager Code will not have been broken and neither you nor Jeffrey will be held accountable. Not only that, but Jeffrey will have no memory of what happened, except for your argument."

"That's great sir!" Bogg exclaimed.

"Voyager Bogg, you are not off the hook yet. Once I go back and stop Jeffrey's little bit of time meddling, he will have no memory of what happened after the argument. As his instructor as well as his dad, it will be YOUR responsibility to explain to him what he did wrong and the consequences which resulted from those actions."

"But sir, what about me?" He asked curiously. "My past self will not have any memory of what has happened either."

"Don't you worry. Once I've stopped Jeffrey from taking his little trip back in time, I'll explain all of what has happened to you, before I leave. After that, you can take over and explain the consequences which would have resulted from his actions. Hopefully, the thought of his untimely death in the other timeline will make him think twice before he attempts something like this again."

"Sir, will he be able to keep his training omni?"

"Hmm…." Chancellor Garth responded as he pondered on the answer. "You know, he won't be much of a recruit if he doesn't have access to an omni. Let him keep the omni. It's up to you as to whether or not you put restrictions on it. After you have your little discussion with him, I'd say you won't have any more trouble like this from him again."

"And Bogg…" Chancellor Garth prompted.

"Sir?"

"When you have your discussion with the boy, be firm, but loving. Try not to be too hard on him. The last thing you want to do is break his spirit. He may have had a moment of bad judgment in this case, but we all make mistakes. It's what we learn from those mistakes which forges our character, tempers our resolve and makes each of us a better person. He will learn and grow from this experience and be a better person for it. Jeffrey has the spirit of a true Voyager, much like his dear old dad and we don't want anything to diminish that."

"Thank you, sir." Bogg replied.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a plan of action. Are there any other questions from the group?" Director Blake asked.

"There being no other questions, I declare this meeting adjourned."


	9. Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks

_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
><strong>**REBELLION - BOOK 7  
><strong>**(Sequel to Old Friends, New Beginnings)  
><strong>**By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
><strong>**December 2011  
><strong>**Previous disclaimers apply**

**Chapter 8 – TEACHING AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS **

Morning had arrived. Bogg, Susan and Chancellor Garth had arrived early at Voyager Headquarters to go over the details as well as prepare their colleague for his latest mission. In the Mission Briefing Room, the three were currently engaged in teaching the Chancellor how to operate his voice-controlled Omni.

"Invalid time parameters. Please restate your command." The Omni said in its cold, monotone voice.

"I said, take me to Earth, the year nineteen eighty-two." Chancellor Garth repeated with intensity.

"Invalid time parameters. Please restate your command." The omni repeated again.

"Hmmmph! I'd say whomever invented the voice controlled omnichron should have had his head examined."

"Error! Please restate your command." The omni barked again.

"I wasn't talking to you!" Chancellor Garth bellowed as he clapped the lid shut on the irritating device and placed it on the table in front of him. "Why can't they just give me an old Omni-1 to use? All you have to do is turn the dials and push a button to get where you are going. And unlike this confounded thing, it doesn't talk back to you."

Susan walked over and placed her hand on the Chancellor's shoulder.

"I'm sorry sir. We tried our best to find a working Omni-1, but there aren't any left in operation."

"How am I ever supposed to get anywhere when I cannot make this confounded thing understand what I want it to do?"

"Sir. Please don't get yourself worked up over this. It'll be ok. The problem is due to not giving the omni enough information. Remember, just like the old Omni-1, you have to tell it the exact time and place where you want to go. If you don't give it enough information, it won't know where to take you."

Chancellor Garth sat down, leaned back in his chair and put both hands on his head in an attempt to relieve the stress he was currently under.

"I'm sorry. You both are doing the best job you can to try to prepare me for this mission. And I know I'm not the best of students. It's just that most Voyagers my age have long since retired from field work. It's been so long and I feel so out of touch with all of this."

Bogg sat quietly in observation of his former instructor and long time mentor. He couldn't help but feel the frustration Garth was currently experiencing. Allowing his mind to wander for a moment, he suddenly began to feel an onslaught of emotions as he slipped quickly into the past, to his days as a new recruit at Voyager Academy. With vivid clarity, he began to relive the times he spent in the Omni Basics class and his own confusion and frustration he experienced as he attempted to master his first omni.

"_Ok, recruits, it's time to test your knowledge of basic omni operations." Professor Garth announced boldly. "In turn, each of you will set your training omnis to a destination of my choosing. At that time, you will activate your omni and both you and I will take a short trip there and back. Any questions?" _

"_If there are no questions, then let us proceed. Let's see now, who'll make the first trip…hmmmm… Who'll be the first recruit to rip open the fabric of space time?" He asked with a chuckle. _

_Voyager recruit Phineas Bogg, being totally preoccupied with thoughts of love, was, at this moment unaware of Professor Garth's intended lesson plan. He continued to stare lustfully at the beautiful young blonde recruit who was sitting a few seats away._

"_Ah…yes… Mr. Bogg. You shall be the first."_

_A rather green recruit Bogg quickly jerked with surprise upon hearing his name being called._

"_What? Uh… I'm sorry sir, I didn't quite get that." Bogg stammered. "My mind was elsewhere for a moment."_

"_I'd say it was, Mr. Bogg." Professor Garth teased. "Class… Recruit Bogg has provided us with some food for thought. As Voyagers, we must not let ourselves be distracted at any time during a mission, even if it is in the name of love, or perhaps lust. Allowing one's emotions to take control could cause a Voyager to find himself rematerializing inside a black hole. And believe me, there's nothing worse than finding oneself inside a black hole."_

_The classroom erupted into laughter. With this, the young recruit's cheeks turned a slight shade of crimson as he donned a rather cheesy grin in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. _

"_Mr. Bogg, if you could possibly tear yourself away from your current preoccupation, I would appreciate it if you'd bring your omni and join me here."_

_Bogg grabbed his training omni and rose from his seat. He walked to the front of the room and took up position at his instructor's side. _

"_So professor, what's this all about?" Bogg asked._

"_I'm going to choose a destination at random. You will set your omni to the correct time and location and take us both on a short trip there. This will test your knowledge of omni operations and prove to me that you have grasped the concepts that I've went over. Any questions?"_

_Recruit Bogg pulled his omni from his belt and opened it confidently._

"_Where to sir?" Bogg asked._

"_Hmmm… let's see now… "_

"Phineas?" Susan whispered, as she now stood behind the Voyager."

"Huh? Oh…Susan." Bogg replied, startled by her touch."

"I think I'm gonna need your help here. Chancellor Garth's confidence in his abilities is a bit lacking at the moment."

"Sure. I know what to do."

Bogg remembered all too well the patience and understanding Professor Garth had shown him during his Academy days as a new Voyager recruit. Voyager recruits are put through a grueling training regimen, including hours of hands on instruction with an omni. For Bogg, mastering the omni technology of that period was difficult enough and if it hadn't been for Garth's confidence in his abilities, he would not be the Voyager that he was today. With this in mind, he knew the time had come for him to show that same patience, understanding and confidence to his friend and mentor. At this point, he quietly rose from his seat, walked over and stood next to the Chancellor.

"Chancellor, sir. Don't let this one hang-up with your omni discourage you. We know it's been a while since you've been out in the field. We know how nervous and apprehensive you are with all of this. But you need to remember this one fact, sir, you may be a bit rusty, but you CAN do this. Just look at all those Voyager recruits you taught while you were at Voyager Academy. You were the expert. When it came to matters of work out in the field, you knew exactly what to do and when to do it. You were the master of your omni and as I see it, this omni is no different than that one. You just need to let it know who is in charge."

"I guess you are correct." Chancellor Garth said with a renewed sense of confidence. "The teacher learns something from the student, wouldn't you say, Voyager Bogg?"

"Well, maybe a little bit." Bogg replied with a sheepish grin.

"I know I'm letting this get the better of me and it really shouldn't be that way. Here…gimme that omni."

Chancellor Garth quickly grabbed the omni from the table and again flipped open the lid.

"Let's see now… Maybe I need to take this little gem on a practice run. You two care to join me?"

Bogg and Susan looked at each other with somewhat worried looks on their faces.

"Do you think that's wise, sir." Susan asked.

"I'd say there's no time like the present." The Chancellor replied confidently as he held the opened omni in front of his face.

"Omni… You listen to me and listen to me good. Set destination, Earth, Hawaii, May 20, 1977. Go!" He commanded.

"Destination Earth, Hawaii, May 20 1977." The omni replied once again in its monotone voice.

With this, Chancellor Garth vanished.

"Phineas… he did it!" Susan exclaimed.

"Yep, he did it alright." Bogg said with disappointment. "I really wish he had taken me with him."

"Do you think we should follow him… you know, just in case he gets into trouble or something?" Susan asked with concern. "We can track him with our own omnis."

"This is Professor Garth we are talking about here. He wrote the book on how to be a Voyager. Don't worry, he'll be just fine. Why don't we sit down and take a load off. I'd say he won't be gone long. And besides, what kind of trouble can he get into in Hawaii? You know, with all those beautiful island girls in their grass skirts..."

"Island girls in grass skirts?" Susan shouted in disbelief. "Phineas, is that all you can think about at a time like this? We just let a rather green Chancellor Garth go gallivanting off by himself with a new omni. How could you ever think of island girls at a time like this?"

Bogg walked over and put his arm around his former love. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to come across as being unconcerned about the Chancellor. I was just saying that there's not much that could happen to him there, other than being surrounded by beautiful women."

"I take it you've been there already?" She snapped.

"Yes. The kid and I went there not too long ago." Bogg said softly. "Don't worry… He'll be just fine, I guarantee it. C'mon, let's go over and sit down. Right now, the only thing we can do is wait and as I see it, we might as well be comfortable while we do so, ok?"

"I guess you are right." Susan replied as she resigned herself to the situation.

An hour had passed. By this time, Bogg had already downed 3 cups of coffee and was now pacing the floor, anxious for the return of his former instructor.

Susan peered over the edge of the magazine she was reading and followed the voyager with her eyes as he continued to cut a path in the floor. Feeling the power of her strong gaze at his back, he stopped momentarily, turned and faced her.

"What?" He quipped.

"You were saying…" Susan said snidely.

"Saying what?" Bogg asked with a curious expression.

"'Oh…He'll be just fine, I guarantee it.' I believe that's what you said. 'Nothing much could happen to him other than being surrounded by beautiful women.' Are you sure those native island women didn't take him hostage or something?"

"Ok, ok… for once, I admit, maybe I was wrong." Bogg quipped. "You know, a Voyager can't be right all of the time. Maybe I should go and make sure he's ok."

"Not without me you don't Phineas Bogg!" Susan exclaimed as she threw down her magazine and sprung up from her seat.

At that moment and much to their surprise, Chancellor Garth appeared in the center of the room. He was dressed in a floral shirt, khaki shorts and had several leis around his neck. In his right hand was a small coconut topped with an umbrella. He staggered on his feet momentarily before regaining his balance.

"Whew! I feel a bit dizzy after all that."

Bogg ran over and grabbed Chancellor Garth's arm to prevent him from falling.

"Sir, are you ok?" Bogg asked curiously.

"Ok…O…K?" Chancellor Garth responded with vigor as he took a sip from his coconut. "I'm more than ok. There's nothing like a bit of tropical sunshine to renew a tired old guy like me. After that little trip, I feel I could take on the whole of the universe."

Susan made her way over and stood next to her former professor.

"Sir, it's best that you shouldn't overdo it at this point. Maybe you should leave the universe to another day."

"You are right as always." Chancellor Garth said as he slowly sat down in a chair. "This is not about me; this is about Jeffrey and fixing the timeline. I have a mission to complete. We've got to save Jeffrey from his fate. And I'm ready to go."

"Hold on, sir." Bogg said with a grin. "You are familiar with the situation and you know what you have to do, but you forgot one very important item."

"What's that, Voyager Bogg?"

"Your destination coordinates." Bogg teased.

"Oh, that would be helpful, wouldn't it?" Chancellor Garth replied.

"Ok, sir. Not many people know this, but I have this sort of secret place, sort of a little hideaway to get away from it all." Bogg confessed.

"A secret place?" Susan asked. "Where?"

"Right now, only Jeff and I know where this place is. I found this beautiful, tranquil, hideaway in the wood back when I was in Voyager Academy. I built a cabin there on the bank of a peaceful, pristine lake. Anytime I felt I needed to clear my head, I'd go and spend a few days there, camping, fishing and just taking in the breathtaking scenery. You know, there's nothing like the fresh air and the open wilderness to reset one's mind."

"Sounds like a wonderful place to visit." Susan said in amazement. "Why haven't you ever shared it with me, Phineas?"

"Uh…ummm…well… you see… it's my little private getaway." Bogg said nervously. "Besides, I figured you wouldn't like roughing it."

"How do you know?" Susan teased. "You never asked."

"Well, after this is over, you and Chancellor Garth will know all about it. You'll be able to visit anytime you wish. But you must swear to keep this place a secret. Promise?"

Susan and Chancellor Garth both nodded in agreement.

"No one must know where this place is." Bogg said with some apprehension. "If everyone finds out, the place will be overrun with field personnel and their friends. It'll be like another Woodstock or something."

Susan slowly shook her head upon hearing Bogg's Woodstock reference.

"Ok, Phineas, tell us… where is this place?" Susan prompted.

"It is on the banks of Lake Keokee in Virginia"

"Well, now that we know the location, how about telling us the specific date that you and Jeffrey were there?" Chancellor Garth asked curiously.

"Sir, the date was April 10, 1979. It was around 7:00pm when we started having our big disagreement. We had only been there a few hours before it all started."

Chancellor Garth rose from his seat.

"Bogg, Susan, I guess it's time I get on with this mission. As I see it, we don't have any more time to waste. The longer we postpone this, the worse the timeline problems will get."

"I really wish I could go with you sir." Bogg said with a hint of disappointment. "But I understand the ramifications of meeting myself in a different time. Please sir, whatever you do, save him… Save him from his awful fate."

"Don't you worry about Jeffrey." Chancellor Garth reassured. "You will have your son back. I can guarantee that. So, just relax and leave all the worrying to me, ok?"

"I will sir. Susan and I both know he is in good hands." Bogg replied.

Chancellor Garth motioned to the two Voyagers to step back away from him.

"Well wish me luck. Here it goes!"

At that moment, the Chancellor flipped open the lid of his omni and held it up in front of him.

"Omni… set destination, Lake Keokee, Virginia, April 10th 1979, the time, 7:10 pm. GO!"

In an instant, he vanished.


	10. A Stranger At the Door

_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
><strong>**REBELLION - BOOK 7  
><strong>**(Sequel to Old Friends, New Beginnings)  
><strong>**By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
><strong>**December 2011  
><strong>**Previous disclaimers apply**

**Chapter 9 – A STRANGER AT THE DOOR**

Chancellor Garth arrived at the cabin almost as quickly as he had left Voyager headquarters. For someone who hadn't been on a mission in quite some time, he landed in front of the cabin at Lake Keokee with all the grace and finesse of an experienced Voyager. Once he had shaken off the mind jarring effects of his landing, he climbed the steps of the rustic cabin's front porch and approached the door. Upon hearing some rather intense shouting coming from within, he paused for a moment to assess the situation.

"Bogg you never let me do any-thing!"

"That's Jeffrey…" Chancellor Garth whispered to himself. "Those two must be at each other's throats by now."

As the shouting continued, Chancellor Garth decided to announce his presence by knocking firmly on the door. Immediately, there was silence. Inside, the two angry Voyagers looked at each other with puzzled expressions, stunned by the noise.

"I'd say someone's at the door, Bogg." Jeffrey teased. "So, who were you expecting? The Avon lady, perhaps?"

Bogg gave his partner a hard look. "Seriously? I really don't think so. Besides, I have enough lipstick already."

"Great. Just great!" Jeffrey moaned. "Just when you think you know someone…"

"Kid, you know no one else knows about this place. Not even the Avon lady. You act as if I should know who's on the other side of that door."

"Well, you should. If what you say is true." Jeff barked.

"So, you're calling me a liar now? You know me better than that, kiddo. Besides, I'm just a plain ol' Voyager. I don't have ESP, nor do I have x-ray vision like Superman. I'm as in the dark as you are about who is at the door."

Again, Chancellor Garth knocked on the door, only this time, he did so with apparent impatience. He managed to knock so hard, one of the planks on the door came loose and crashed to the floor.

"Looks like this door's not going to hold up to much more abuse." Bogg whispered as he picked up the piece of wood from the floor and cast it aside.

"Well, why don't you quit clowning around and find out who it is, before they knock it down." Jeff said snidely.

"Smart kids give me such a pain." Bogg mumbled as he turned toward the door.

Bogg turned the knob and cautiously cracked open the door. As he peered around the edge, he saw an all too familiar face on the other side. Much to his surprise it was Chancellor Garth.

"Chancellor Garth?" He asked curiously as he threw open the door. "What are you doing here? Not only that, how did you ever find us?"

"Oh, let's just say I have my sources." Garth teased. "So are you going to invite me in, or am I to continue to stand out here in the cold like a cigar store Indian?"

"Please sir, come in." Bogg beckoned as his cheeks took on a hint of crimson.

Garth stepped inside and started rubbing his hands together to warm them. As Bogg closed the door behind him, he couldn't help but notice his former professor peering around the room, inspecting every inch of the little abode.

"So, this is your little secret hideaway, huh?"

"Hmmm…you could say that." Bogg replied with a hint of disappointment. "Though, I don't know so much about it being a big secret anymore."

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me." Garth reassured. "You know at one time, long, long ago, I used to have a place like this. A place to get away from it all. What I wouldn't give to go back there now. But, enough about that, I'm here on a mission."

"A mission?" Jeffrey asked curiously.

"Well, if it isn't our youngest Voyager recruit, Jeffrey Jones." Garth announced as he walked over and shook the young Voyager's hand. "How have you been?"

"I'm doing ok, I guess."

"You guess? That's not the answer I was expecting. Is there something bothering our youngest recruit?"

Feeling a bit uncomfortable at this point, Jeff shrugged his shoulders and quickly skirted around the issue and changed the subject.

"Sir…what kind of mission are you on?" He asked. "I thought you retired from field service work many years ago."

"Let's just say I'm on a humanitarian mission. I heard that you two were having a bit of a disagreement and I'm here to help you through it."

Jeff hung his head in shame after hearing Garth's response to his question.

Bogg, also embarrassed by his friend and mentor's knowledge of their little tet-a-tet, stood in the shadows with a sheepish grin painted on his face.

Garth glanced at the two and couldn't help but notice the humiliation now plastered on their faces.

"Listen, guys, there's nothing to be embarrassed about." Garth reassured. "We all have disagreements and conflicts from time to time. It's how we resolve them which builds our character."

The two looked momentarily at each other and rolled their eyes.

"Maybe I can help the two of you work out your little misunderstanding." Garth said in a warm tone. "I've been told I'm a really good listener. Mind you, I'm no Sigmund Freud, but I do dabble in it a bit."

"I guess so." Bogg acknowledged. "We could use a good referee right now. Isn't that right, Jeff?"

"Yea, ok." Jeff replied despondently.

"Ok, then. Before we get started here, Bogg, could I speak with you privately outside?"

"Is there anything wrong?" Bogg asked.

Jeff's eyes suddenly grew large. Garth had never discussed anything with his partner without involving him as well. His request for a private meeting with Bogg had left him with a rather uneasy feeling inside.

"No, not at this moment." Garth replied somewhat suspiciously.

"Looks like I'm in really big trouble." Jeff mumbled to himself.

"Ok, sir…" Bogg agreed. "But, first, let me get my coat. You know there's a bit of a chill in the air this evening."

Bogg grabbed his coat from a nearby hook. As he slipped it on, he turned to his partner who was now sitting on the sofa.

"Jeff, I need for you to stay right here, ok? We'll continue our discussion when we get back."

"I'll be here. I'm not going anywhere at the moment." Jeff replied with a note of concern in his voice.

Bogg opened the door and the two made their way out onto the cabin's front porch. Once outside, Garth looked back at the young Voyager and winked reassuringly as he closed the door behind them.

"So what's this all about, sir?" Bogg asked curiously.

"Well, I don't normally interfere in the affairs of field personnel but there's more to this argument between you and Jeffrey than you actually realize. That's why I'm here."

"This sounds really serious."

"It is, Bogg. The sequence of events which will occur here over the next hour, if allowed to occur, will cause an upheaval in the timeline, the likes of which you have yet to see." Garth stated with an overwhelming sense of urgency in his tone. "Why don't we both sit down and I'll explain further."

The two took up residence on a rather rustic-looking bench placed against the exterior wall of the cabin.

"First of all, I'm here from the future." He confessed. "I'm here on a mission to save Jeffrey from his inevitable fate."

"Save him from his fate?" Bogg asked with concern. "I don't understand. What fate?"

Garth placed his hand reassuringly on Bogg's shoulder. "I understand Jeffrey wants to go back to the time of his parent's accident and save their lives. Is that correct?"

"Yes. And no matter how much I try, I still can't convince him that saving his parents is not a good idea."

"My boy, you've got that right." Garth acknowledged. "In my time, the deed has already been done.

"How? Why?"

"According to what your future self told us, it seems as though the argument the two of you had escalated to such a degree that Jeffrey decided to take matters into his own hands."

Bogg gasped in disbelief. "You're kidding?"

Garth looked at his former student with a serious look on his face. "Voyager Bogg, I've never been more serious in the whole of my life. Even after you had explained the consequences resulting from making these changes to the timeline, Jeffrey took you by surprise and used his training Omni to go back to the time of the accident. You attempted to stop him by locking out his controls, but he disappeared before you could do so. You then attempted to follow him back to the time of the accident to again try to stop him, but by the time you had arrived, it was too late. He had already saved his parents from their fate."

"Bats-breath!" Bogg whispered as he shook his head in disbelief. "What WAS he thinking?"

"I really don't know the answer to that one." Garth acknowledged. "But, what he did, that one reckless act, not only changed his parent's timeline but also changed your timeline and his as well. Once he had prevented the accident, everything changed. You forgot all about Jeffrey, your first meeting, the tribunal, the missions, the adoption… everything! Not only that, but all of the work the two of you had done together, repairing issues with the timeline, well, it was like nothing had ever been done at all."

"You mean that one senseless act caused all this?" Bogg asked in disbelief.

"Unfortunately… yes." Garth replied. "But that's not the half of it. Not only did he mess up his parent's timeline and your timeline, but he introduced a change in his own timeline that set up a chain of events leading to his own premature demise."

A stunned look came over Bogg's face as his mouth suddenly dropped open. "He died? How did he die? When did it happen?"

"According to the history of the changed timeline, three years after he saved his parents, Jeffrey was riding his bicycle down the street and was hit by an oncoming vehicle. He never recovered from his injuries and died several days later."

"Oh my… I can't believe it, Jeffrey… dead?"

Bogg rose from his seat, extremely disturbed by what he had just heard. He stood in the cold, darkness that surrounded him, his mouth still agape and his eyes peering out into the distance. The thought of Jeffrey's untimely death had sent shockwaves through his body. Garth could sense how troubled his former student was and tried his best to convince him that everything would work out for the best. He too rose from his seat, walked over and put a reassuring hand on his Bogg's shoulder.

"Bogg, please… listen to me. The situation may look grim at this moment, but I'm here to prevent all of this from occurring. Please do not overly concern yourself. We will get through this, I assure you. Susan and your future self determined that Jeffrey needed an intervention and that intervention needed to come from someone for whom he has the utmost respect and listens to without question. That someone, according to the two of you, was me. So, here I am, once again back out in the field. My mission is to sit down with the two of you and help you work through your differences as well as to convince him that nothing will be gained from saving his parents from their fate."

"Sir, you have a daunting task ahead of you." Bogg said softly. "Based on what you've told me, it's obvious I've failed in my responsibilities to Jeff, as a father, a mentor and as an instructor. Maybe you can make the little pain see reason."

Garth nodded in disagreement. "Bogg, you have not failed in your responsibilities. My boy, you have to realize, you have taken on the huge task of raising an orphaned boy, whose parents had died and whose family had all but abandoned him. Not only that, but you've taken him under your wing, become his friend, his mentor and his teacher. And you've succeeded at all of this. Sure, there's going to be bumps in the road, like this one, but you only have to look at Jeffrey to see the good you've accomplished. You should be proud of yourself and of him as well."

Bogg turned to face his friend and mentor with a tear in his eye. "I am proud of what I've accomplished and even more proud of Jeff and the person he has become. I love him, sir. He's the best thing that ever happened to me, the best thing that could have ever come into my life. The problem is I feel we've reached a point where I don't know what to do next."

"Like I said, this is just another bump in the road. The two of you will get through this and everything will be ok. You just leave it to me." Garth reassured.

"I will sir." Bogg replied. "I trust you and your judgment, explicitly."

"Oh, one other thing." Garth prompted. "Once I've accomplished my goals here, it will be up to you to explain to him what would've occurred if he had in fact went back and fulfilled his mission."

"I will sir, believe me, I will."

Garth put his arm around his former student's shoulder and gave him a quick hug.

"Come on, it's time we get inside." Garth urged. "This cold, damp air is not good for a dried-up ol' prune like me."


	11. Where's Freud When You Need Him

_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
><strong>**REBELLION - BOOK 7  
><strong>**(Sequel to Old Friends, New Beginnings)  
><strong>**By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
><strong>**December 2011  
><strong>**Previous disclaimers apply**

**Chapter 10 – WHERE'S FREUD WHEN YOU NEED HIM?**

Jeff had been sitting quietly on the sofa, staring at the intricate patterns of the flames in the fireplace. It had been quite a while since Chancellor Garth and Bogg had left the room and there were no signs of them returning anytime soon. As time continued to tick away, the uneasiness in Jeffrey's gut was building. He knew something was not quite right; he just couldn't put his finger on it at the present moment. And in addition to his uneasiness, his mind was also tormenting him with a few troubling thoughts about the situation. As he attempted to calm his active mind, suddenly, the door to the cabin slowly opened. He jumped to his feet and ran over to greet his friends.

"Chancellor Garth, Bogg?" He exclaimed. "Is everything ok?"

Garth put his hand on the boy's shoulder, reassuringly.

"Jeffrey, all is ok."

As Bogg came through the door, Jeff couldn't help but notice that his head was down and his chin was almost touching the floor. He looked preoccupied and if not worried about something. Jeff ran over and stood beside him.

"Bogg, what's wrong? You look as if you've lost your best friend."

Bogg raised his chin and attempted a smile, but his lips wouldn't comply.

"I'm ok Jeff, Really I am." He replied.

"Jeffrey, I think it's time we get down to business here and try to help you two work through your problems." Garth urged. "Why don't we all take a seat on the sofa and we'll get started."

Garth walked over and sat down in the middle of the sofa. Bogg and Jeff took up residence on the ends.

"Ok, guys, I'm here to help you. I'm here to listen to what you have to say and try to understand what's bothering you. Hopefully, by the time we get to the root of the problems, we will have determined how best to resolve them."

"First, let's set a few ground rules. One… Only one person will speak at a time. Two… We are not on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the 1920s, so there will be no need for shouting or yelling. We will speak in normal tones. Three… You will be mindful and respectful of each others' feelings. Do you both agree to these ground rules?"

"Yes sir." Bogg and Jeff responded in unison.

"Ok, then, shall we begin?" Garth urged. "Obviously, the two of you are having some sort of disagreement. So Jeffrey, why don't you start first. Tell me in your own words what's troubling you."

Jeff paused for a moment and swallowed hard. "I'm afraid." He admitted.

"You are amongst friends here, Jeff. Feel free to be open and honest about your feelings. I assure you, this is an open forum and there's nothing to be afraid of."

"What about Bogg?"

"What do you mean?" Garth asked curiously.

"I'm afraid I'll make him mad."

"You two are the best of buddies. Why does this frighten you so?" Garth asked. "He hasn't done anything to hurt you, now has he?"

Bogg suddenly jumped into the conversation. "Jeff, I love you. There's nothing to be afraid of. If I get mad then I get mad. I'd never do anything to harm you."

Garth turned to the older Voyager momentarily and motioned for him to be silent.

"Jeffrey, you can answer my question. Has Bogg ever done anything to hurt you?"

"No, but."

"But what?" Garth asked, pressing the young voyager for an answer.

"But he does yell at me a lot."

"Why do you think he yells at you?"

"He thinks I'm a little kid. When I do something wrong, he yells at me."

Bogg opened his mouth slightly, as if he were going to interrupt, but scowled a bit as he bit his lip.

"And you think he shouldn't yell at you when you do something wrong?"

"Nope."

"When your parent's were alive, did they ever yell at you when you did something wrong?" Garth asked.

"Well, yes, sometimes."

"And was it effective, I mean, did it help to redirect your behavior?"

"I guess so."

"Ok, if Bogg had a choice between yelling at you and some other method of correcting you, what do you think the alternative would be?"

"Certainly not a spanking." Jeff teased.

"Kid, I believe you are a little bit too old for that." Bogg quipped.

Garth turned to Bogg momentarily with a lowered brow.

"So, how should Bogg handle the situation?" Garth prodded. "What do you think he should do?"

"It would be great if he'd just discuss it with me rationally, instead of blowing his stack."

"That sounds like an acceptable way of handling it." Garth replied with a humorous tone. "And it probably would be better for his health in the long run. Blowing one's stack too often could cause one to have major health problems."

"Now that you've told me about the "yelling" bit, I suspect there's more to this disagreement than just Bogg's yelling at you. Isn't that right?"

Jeff lowered his chin and mumbled. "Yea, there's more to it alright."

"Can you elaborate further?" Garth continued.

The young Voyager quickly raised his head. "Not only am I his son, but I'm a Voyager as well. He never lets me do anything on my own. He never allows me to make decisions or do what I want. It's always his way. I never get a chance to stand on my own two feet."

"Go ahead, continue… I'm listening." Garth prompted.

"I'm fourteen years old and he still treats me as if I'm this little kid. It's always, 'Jeffrey do this and Jeffrey don't do that.' And if there's something Bogg wants to do, we do it. If there's something I want to do, the answer is always NO."

"And all this… all of what you have just described…makes you feel…"

"Trapped… I sometimes feel like we're bound at the hip. Like I'm a prisoner or a slave."

"Can you give me an example of something you've wanted to do solo, that Bogg here has not allowed you to do?"

Jeff paused for a moment, seemingly unable to answer Garth's latest question.

"Surely there has to be something he has kept you from doing. Something."

"Well, there is one thing…"

"I'm listening…" Garth prompted.

"Now that I'm a Voyager, I really want to go back to the time of my parent's accident and try to save them. But Bogg here won't let me. He says it will cause all kinds of issues."

"I'd say Bogg is correct in his analysis of the situation. But I'll talk more about that later. Let me ask you this, Jeff. Why do you want to go back and do that? Wait, let me rephrase that. What is the one thing that pushes you to want to do that?"

"They were my parents. I love them and want them back."

Bogg slowly lowered his head. Once again his partner's words had pierced his heart.

"Jeff, tell me a little bit about your parents." Garth prompted.

"My dad was a history professor for a local college. He loved history and also dabbled a bit in archeology. He loved to explore things, dig in the ruins of a particular place and try to piece together what went on there. I thought of him as another Indiana Jones."

"Sounds to me like he had the will of a true explorer."

"He did sir. If there was a question, he most certainly would try to find the answer to it."

"Tell me about your mother. What was she like?"

"Well, where dad was the explorer in the family, mom was the adventurer. When she was not involved in her charity work, her true love was being in the great outdoors. She loved nature and loved camping and roughing it in the wild. The two were a great match."

"How did your dad meet your mother?"

"It's a long story, but dad met mom for the first time when she signed up for one of his history classes at the college where he taught. She was one of his best students. Eventually, they got to know each other and as they say the rest is history. No pun intended of course.

Garth chuckled. "None taken."

"But do tell me, If your parents…oh…what were their names?"

"My dad's name was Bill, my mom was Kathy." Jeff replied.

"Ok, tell me. If you were able to speak with Bill and Kathy about this attempt to save their lives, what do you think they would say?"

Jeff sat silently for a moment, in deep thought about the question that was just asked of him.

"Sir, I believe, if there was any way to save them, they would want me to try."

"Are you sure about that?" Garth asked curiously. "Even if they knew that doing so could change the historical timeline on such a broad scale?"

Jeff dropped his head in disappointment. "They probably wouldn't want me to save them. They wouldn't feel that it was right, especially to hurt others, just to save them." He mumbled.

Garth put his hand on Jeff's shoulder as he attempted to help the young man see reason.

"Your parents were highly intelligent, rational people." I know that and so do you. You know they would not want you to risk your life or your status as a Voyager to save them. And neither of them would want to be saved, especially if it caused others undue harm."

Jeff reluctantly nodded in agreement. He knew Chancellor Garth's insight into the situation and his sage wisdom was right on target.

"Let's change focus for a moment." Garth continued. "Why do you think Bogg here doesn't want you to attempt this undertaking?"

Jeff again paused for a moment, in deep thought, before responding to Garth's question.

"I believe it's because he's jealous of mom and dad." Jeff spouted.

Garth momentarily glanced over to see how well Bogg was holding up. The older Voyager sat motionless with his head down. Jeff's latest accusations had almost driven him to tears.

"Why do you think Bogg would be jealous of your parents?"

"He's afraid if they come back to life, he'll have no one to boss around any longer."

"Jeffrey, if it's ok with you, I'd like to stop here for a moment. I believe there's a few things that you don't know about your dad and this is a good time to tell you a little bit about him."

"Ok, sir."

"I first met Phineas Bogg, some five or so odd years ago. This was not too long after he was plucked from time to become one of our latest recruits. After reading his file, one of the things that prominently stood out in his record was his high moral standards. The more I read, the more I was impressed with him. And you know why he impressed me so? He was the first pirate that I had ever encountered that had a conscience, a sense of right and wrong. For all those years he spent aboard ship, he never once compromised his morals and standards. At that time, it was obvious that we had plucked the right person for the job."

"During his years at Voyager Academy, I had the opportunity to get to know him really well. I was his instructor on many occasions. He had an excellent work ethic as he always strived to do his very best in my classes. He was eager to learn and his goal was to become the best Voyager he could be. In all the time I've known him, I've never known him to indulge in any of the usual human vices, such as lying, cheating, stealing or the like. He, as I stated before, had high moral standards for himself, which must have been instilled in him by his parents. In all the time I've known him, he has always put the welfare of others above his own interests and has always given of himself, willingly and with lack of regard for his own needs or his own safety."

"I guess what I'm trying to say and please understand I'm not taking sides here; Bogg may have his faults, but I don't believe jealousy is one of them. The real question is do you believe that?"

Jeff lowered his head and spoke not another word. He was feeling that maybe he had missed the mark with his assessment of his partner.

"You know, I think it's time we hear from Bogg." Garth announced. "He's been sitting here quiet as a mouse all this time. Let's see what he has to add to this discussion."

Bogg raised his head and wiped one eye on his sleeve.

"Jeff…" He said and then paused for a moment, attempting to choke back his emotions.

"Kiddo, you said earlier that you were afraid of me. I never wanted our relationship to come to this. I know, I know I've yelled at you on many occasions, using this as a method of discipline when you got out of line. But I want you to understand, I did this, not to have you fear me, but because I love you and I don't want to see you hurt."

"Upon reflection, I also understand that I've been way out of line with regard to allowing you the freedom to grow and mature not only as a person, but as a Voyager recruit as well. For that, I'm truly sorry. But understand, the reason for me being so restrictive of your actions and being so over protective of you was to keep you from harm. I was not doing this to be mean to you. Why would I want to be mean to my son whom I love so dearly."

Bogg rose from his seat, walked over and bent down on one knee in front of his young son.

"Jeff… as I have told you on so many occasions, I love you. I want you to know that. I would never, ever do anything to harm you or to jeopardize our relationship as father and son for that matter. I know in my extreme anger, I've said some things that after looking back, I really shouldn't have said. I threw a great number of hurtful things at you and for that, I'm sorry, truly sorry. I just hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me. I know how much you loved your parents and I know all too well that I'm never going to be a replacement for them as much as I want to be. I just hope that someday we'll be able to put all this behind us and you will eventually feel comfortable enough to allow me to be the dad that I've wanted to be and the dad you want me to be."

Jeff raised his head and attempted to speak.

"Bogg…"

"No…shhhh… Just listen, ok." Bogg said lovingly in a soft tone.

"I've had some time to think about all of this, to examine the situation from your perspective. And I now understand why you want to go back and help your parents. If the tables were turned, I too would want to do the same thing. If it were up to me, I'd grab my omni right now, go back and save them for you. If I could, I would do this in a heartbeat, that is, if it would change your life for the better and make you happy. As I see it, every child deserves to have a mom and a dad. No kid should ever have to grow up alone and unloved. And you are no exception to this rule. Not only that, but no kid should have to grow up without a warm place to call home. No kid should have to spend the whole of his life zipping from time to time and place to place, eating what food he can hurriedly find and never having a permanent place to lay his head at night. When I adopted you, maybe I did so for purely selfish reasons. Maybe I was thinking solely of my own needs, not paying any mind to your own. I thought that I was doing the right thing, because it was what we both wanted. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you would have been better off if I had just gone back and prevented your parent's accident."

"Stop it Bogg!" Jeff yelled, now overwhelmed with emotion. "Stop it!" He then jumped from his seat and threw his arms around his partner.

"I'm sorry. I never meant to say all those nasty things to you." Jeff confessed. "I forgive you and I hope you can forgive me. I love you. My parents are gone and there's no way I can change that."

Bogg grabbed his partner and pushed him away, to a point where they were face to face.

"But I can!" Bogg said softly. "I can take my omni, go back and stop their accident from occurring."

"Bogg, you can't do that." Garth whispered. "Remember, it will change the timeline. Not only that, but you'll be violating the Voyager Code."

"Why should I care?" Bogg said softly as he winked at the Chancellor. "This is Jeffrey's life we're talking about here. Who has the right to deny him having his parents? Who has the right to deny him having a good life?"

Bogg slowly reached for his belt and unclipped his omni. He opened the lid and began to set the controls for the date and time of Jeff's parent's accident.

"No Bogg!" Jeff exclaimed. "I won't let you. You'd be sacrificing everything and I won't let you do that."

"Kid you don't understand." Bogg whined. "I'm doing this for you, because I love you."

Jeff reached over and slowly pried the omni from his partner's hand. He then reset the controls and closed the lid.

"Bogg, I mean dad… I love you. I don't care if we don't have a mansion to live in. I don't care if I have to zip around constantly from timezone to timezone. I'll even eat beef jerky three times a day if I have to. I just want to be your son and I want you to be proud of me."

"Kiddo, I am proud of you. There's never been a time when I wasn't." Bogg replied as he put his arms around his son.

At this point, Chancellor Garth eased himself off the sofa and quietly walked toward the cabin door. He pulled his omni from his pocket and opened the lid.

"Well, guys, it looks like everything is back to normal. You two are going to be just fine. Just remember, we all have disagreements from time to time. If we sit down and talk through them calmly and rationally, we can get past them. And Jeffrey… one other thing…"

"What's that sir?"

"Always remember. You may have an Omni, but it's not always in our best interest to go back and make changes to our own timeline, no matter how much we want to. You are not the first Voyager to learn this lesson and probably won't be the last."

"I understand sir."

"And now… I must be off. My mission is complete and it's time to get back to VHQ. While I appreciate the opportunity to get to relive my days as a Voyager in the field, it's time that I turn in my omni, get back to my desk and resume my rather boring, uneventful position as Chancellor."

"Thank you, sir." Bogg said with extreme gratefulness. "You don't know how much I appreciate what you've done for us."

"Anything for my two most favorite Voyagers!" Garth replied as he smiled and brought his omni up to his chin.

"Goodbye, sir." Jeff said softly.

"Let's not say goodbye, let's just say…until next time…"

Garth paused for a moment, then looked at his omni.

"Omni, Destination, return to home base, go!"

In an instant, he vanished.

Jeff turned again to his partner.

"Bogg I'm so sorry for what I've said to you."

"Kid, the past, is the past. There's no hard feelings. Let's just say we had a really bad day and put the whole issue behind us, ok?"

"Ok."

As Jeff sat back down on the sofa, Bogg managed to get to his feet and turned toward the kitchen of the little cabin. He took a step forward, stopped and turned back to his partner.

"There's one other thing I need to tell you."

"What's that?"

"I need to pass along the information that Chancellor Garth told me outside on the porch."

"Oh, the secret mission briefing."

"Well, yea, you could say that."

Bogg walked over and again sat down on the sofa next to his son.

"Chancellor Garth came here from our future. It seems as though you actually went through with your plans. After our rather heated argument, you went back and stopped your parent's accident from occurring."

"I did?"

"You sure did, kiddo. And let's just say the results were not exactly what you were expecting."

"What happened?"

"After you stopped the accident from occurring, I supposedly lost all my memory. Get this, I couldn't remember who you were." Bogg said with a chuckle.

"You couldn't remember me?" Jeff asked. "Wow… I caused all this just by preventing the accident from happening?"

"Not only that but, all the assignments we had been on and the work we had done since we met was suddenly undone. Can you imagine, Columbus never making it to the new world, Jefferson never writing the declaration and Edison never inventing the light bulb?"

"I bet there was total chaos at Mission Control." Jeff stated.

"I'd say you were probably at the top of Connor's hit list." Bogg teased as he laughed out loud and punched his partner on the arm.

"But that wasn't the half of it. Three years later, you were riding your bicycle down the road and got flattened by an oncoming vehicle."

"I got run over?" Jeff asked curiously.

"Flat as a pancake." Bogg replied with his usual tongue-in-cheek manner.

"What happened after that?"

"Nothing much. You died. Isn't that just hilarious?"

Upon hearing this, Jeff eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"I died?" He asked innocently.

Bogg slowly stopped laughing and turned to face his partner.

"Yes, kiddo, you died three years later." Bogg acknowledged as he put his arm around his partner. "Hey, but that was a timeline that will never again see the light of day. You have nothing to worry about. We'll be together until we're both old and gray."

"Thanks Bogg." Jeff said sullenly. "That really makes me feel much better."

"Cheer up." He urged. "It's all in the past. I just hope this is proof positive that you just can't go about tinkering with your own timeline. Even small changes can severely alter your future."

"Oh you don't need to worry about that ever happening. After this, I'll be the last Voyager to go back and tamper with his own timeline."

"That's what I wanted to hear." Bogg said with a sigh of relief before quickly jumping to his feet. "It's late. I guess I better rustle us up some dinner."

"What are we having?" Jeff asked.

"You have your choice of fried beef jerky, toasted pine cone and beef jerky salad, beef jerky soup or beef jerky surprise. What's your pleasure?"

"Just throw me a piece of jerky, please."

- THE END -


End file.
